


HBS Vignettes

by 10Blue10



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Gen, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Toothless Friendship, Not In Chronological Order, Slice of Life, Worldbuilding, dreamscape
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-11
Updated: 2018-10-28
Packaged: 2019-03-29 22:34:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 24,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13936824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/10Blue10/pseuds/10Blue10
Summary: Disclaimer: I don’t own HTTYDA/N: The first of these one-shots was inspired by sarahenany’s ‘Unbreaking’, an absolutely gorgeous fix-it fic for ‘The Terrible Twos’. The second is a continuation of the first.





	1. The Ones that Matter

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own HTTYD
> 
> A/N: The first of these one-shots was inspired by sarahenany’s ‘Unbreaking’, an absolutely gorgeous fix-it fic for ‘The Terrible Twos’. The second is a continuation of the first.

The Ones That Matter 

He’s leaving me.

He’s really, seriously leaving me here!

He looks back, once, and then - nothing. Not even a “See you soon, bud.” No “It’s not for long.” He’s walking away from me, but why? Why?

He wants to keep me and the demon spawn apart. He thinks I’m jealous, that I want to hurt a hatchling. As if I would! Doesn’t he know me better than that? I only tried to warn him! To give the pest back to his real mother, so he’d stop stealing my food and my bed and my-

I snarl in frustrated denial. No, it cannot be! Torch cannot have stolen Hiccup from me too...can he?

She’s still out there. She’ll kill him. I have to get out of here! I leap at the rocks, digging my claws in and struggling to haul myself out. They are wet and slippery with last night’s rain, and I can’t get a good grip. My wings flutter; I can’t beat them properly, powerfully, without slapping them against the rough stone.

A run up! That will work, surely. I charge at the wall of the cove and in a single bound, make it about halfway. I’m so close, but when I try to stretch a paw up to the edge, the other can’t hold my weight. Soil and stone give way as I scrabble helplessly, falling back to the ground.

I scream in anger, long and loud. How dare he?! The arrogant, ignorant little waif! He’s nothing but a stupid human hatchling. He has no idea...I can see his reasons, misguided as they are, for wanting to keep Torch and I apart. But if that is so, then why not send the newcomer away? Why am I the one who has to be punished?

In all the time I’ve known him, everything we’ve been through together, Hiccup has never treated me like this. Unequal. Unworthy. As if I really am just his pet, and he my master. He is...he was like a brother to me. I had thought - hoped - he saw me in much the same way. 

Anger makes my heart fires blaze and I spit fireballs out to quell it. How could he?! How could he?! He used our bond against me, made this special place to us into a prison, and left me here without so much as a goodbye. And for what? To protect a dragon he’s only just met?

The human I love has abandoned me here...as if he doesn’t trust me anymore.  A terrible thought stops my raging in its tracks and freezes my heart fires like ice that kills. Hiccup abandoned me...as if he doesn’t love me anymore.

Surely not. Surely I’m mistaken; he’ll realise he was wrong and then he’ll come back for me. I just have to wait, and pray that the mother Fire-Spinner doesn’t find him first. If she scents her hatchling on him - and he’s covered in it - she will think he’s stolen her baby, and she’ll...

The thought of it spurs me on, and I try again to get out of the cove. I cannot. I scream until my throat is raw. Stupid cove! Stupid Torch! Stupid Hiccup! Then I collapse, exhausted, and whimper. Hiccup...he might not care for me anymore - please don’t let it be true - but I can’t help caring about him.

I shouldn’t. I shouldn’t have gotten attached. It’s dangerous. Humans are dangerous, whether they’re hunting you or not. Maybe...maybe this hurts more, like a blade in my chest,  because I thought he loved me. I could call for help - I’ll just have to ignore my pride and let another dragon haul me out of this trap - but would he let me come back? Or would he just put me back here?

* * *

I wake with a start, ear-flaps erect. What was...?

“TOOTHLESS!!”

Hiccup! I leap to my feet and try to scramble out of the cove again. He’s in danger, he needs me, Torch’s mother must have found him! I look up at the cliff edge and roar to let him know I’m here - and then I see him blindly jump off the edge. Stupid human. What if I’d been at the other side of the cove?

I jump to catch him, and somehow he lands in the saddle and my tail-fins unfurl and I’m whole again. “Thanks, bud. I’m so sorry, I should have listened to you.”

Damn right you should have.

Torch causes trouble, again, but at last he’s back with his mother and siblings. I’m almost grateful that Hiccup only found one of those little pests. We go back home and...

* * *

It’s times like these that I wish humans could understand us. If I could have just told Hiccup what was really happening...but I suppose I can’t blame him too much. He’s only a fledgling; worse, he’s a human fledging. It’s both fascinating and annoying how humans - especially mine - can be so clever and so dumb at the same time.

He’s young. He’s stupid. He didn’t mean to hurt me, he was just doing what he thought was right. If I can forgive him for my tail, I can forgive him this.

“I should have known you were just trying to protect me. That’s what you do.”

Yes. Yes it is. I still cough up half a fish into his lap; I have to get my revenge _somehow_.

* * *

Toothless had just started to get used to his own body again when he heard a sob. Immediately, he looked over to see Hiccup kneeling nearby, arms wrapped around himself and tears in his eyes. *Hiccup?*

The young man looked up at him, clearly stricken. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry Toothless, I’m sorry, I had no idea you - why didn’t you tell me? I’ll make it up to you, I promise. Do whatever you want” he announced, sprawling on his back with his stomach and throat exposed, apologising the way a dragon would.

Toothless stared at Hiccup, wondering what had gotten into him. Then he realised. He sighed and leaned down to lick Hiccup’s neck - then the rest of his face, just for good measure. Hiccup spluttered. “Toothless?! What’re you doing? I deserve way more than that!” he protested, sitting up again.

Toothless swatted him upside the head with his tail. *Don’t be so dramatic. You just lived through my memories of when we found Torch, didn’t you?*

“Yes, and I am so, so sorry” - 

*Then you know I’ve forgiven you.*

 “How?! You said - and I still don’t understand how you forgave me for this, either.” Hiccup lifted Toothless’ tail, cradling it and stroking a hand reverently across the smooth surface. “Why didn’t you tell me, when you could?” he implored.

Again, Toothless stared. *Hiccup, you _know_ that I’ve forgiven you for what happened to my tail. And the whole mess with Torch was _years_ ago. I’m over it; I thought you were too* he explained.

“I didn’t realise how much I hurt you! I made you think that I...” He couldn’t say it. “I never meant to do that. I just...Torch was so small and I was scared you’d attack him and I couldn’t just lock you up and I thought at least you liked the cove - but I should’ve just let Fishlegs or someone take care of Torch instead. I never would have taken him home if I’d known he was such a little menace!”

If there was one thing neither of them could bear, it was the other being distressed. Toothless nuzzled Hiccup, who was still hugging the dragon’s tail-fin to his chest. *I told you, it’s okay. Even then I knew that you wouldn’t hurt me on purpose; and I’ve lived through your memories too. I know how much it hurt you to leave me behind, that you really did think it was for the best*.

Hiccup dragged a hand over his face. “I was a moron” he announced despondently. “How did I not realise that if a baby dragon was lost, it’s mother was probably looking for it? Next time I say something is for the best, please just slap me.”

He looked up at Toothless and held up the tail-fin. “I did this” he declared, “and then I used it against you. I didn’t trust you when you needed me to, and I never understood what I’d done until now. I know you forgive me, I just...don’t understand how” he admitted.

*Hiccup, you made a _mistake_. And as for my tail...you know what they say, a downed dragon is a dead dragon. Even if they’re not killed, a dragon who can never fly again will, eventually, lose the will to live*. Toothless focused on his phantom fin, and it morphed before their eyes into the original brown prosthetic Hiccup had spent weeks perfecting. *You brought me back to life*.

*But I’m the reason you lost your flight in the first place!” Hiccup protested. “I don’t deserve you.”

*That’s like saying you don’t deserve to be loved.*

“I don’t deserve your love. I never have” Hiccup sighed. He gazed down at Toothless’ tail-fin and it’s leather counterpart. All he could think of were his own flaws and failings, and he’d never be able to fathom how he could possibly have earned, much less deserve, his other half’s selfless devotion.

His thoughts must have shown on his face because Toothless sighed, exasperated, and insisted *Yes, you do. You did this*, he twitched his tail-fin, *but I did that*, he gestured with a paw at Hiccup’s ethereal foot. They were the same, they matched. 

Hiccup shook his head. “It’s not the same. You were trying to save my life...I shot you down just so I could be popular and get a date” he said, voice thick with self-loathing.

*Well, it worked, didn’t it? Shooting me down did make you popular and get you a date. Eventually. After three or four years* Toothless teased, purring amusement. Hiccup wasn’t really in the mood for jokes, however, and pouted. Toothless had had enough of his human’s sulking; it was entirely unnecessary.

*You know, it’s strange that you think I’m so forgiving. You’re even more forgiving than I am* he remarked. When Hiccup glanced up at him questioningly, Toothless explained, *Every time I’ve forgiven you - forgiven anyone, really - is when you did something to make up for it. Even if it was just admitting you were wrong. But you...

*Before we met, those five friends of yours used to ignore and bully you constantly. Astrid came to her senses - with help, of course - but the rest of them? They didn’t try to change until you almost got killed; as if they needed a battle to see how resilient you were. You didn’t even know they’d apologised, but you still forgave them for it all.*

Hiccup blinked up at him, confused. “I...wait, what do you mean, I didn’t know they’d apologised?”

The dragon suddenly looked sheepish. *It happened when you were...asleep...after we killed the Red Death. They came in one by one and talked to you. Although I don’t see why they couldn’t have told you when you were awake.*

“Ah, well, maybe they were embarrassed. We don’t mind admitting we’re wrong, but we’d prefer not to do it face to face” Hiccup joked. He sobered again and added, “I just...I forgave them because I didn’t see the point in holding a grudge. And they’ve made up for it since then, haven’t they? Besides, at the time I figured...even if the novelty of me defeating the Red Death wore off, and things went back to normal, I’d be able to handle it, because I had you” he smiled up at Toothless.

The Night Fury nuzzled his human even as he ached inside. It still hurt, that there was once a time that Hiccup believed his accomplishments would be dismissed, and that him being belittled and put down was ‘normal’. True, Hiccup’s former bullies had done much to make amends...but still, Toothless wasn’t sure they could ever do enough to make up for mistreating his human. That was probably his overprotectiveness talking, though.

*My point is, if you could forgive them so easily, then...*

“I should be able to forgive myself?” Hiccup finished for him. He sighed. “I know, I just feel awful that I didn’t realise...are you sure it’s okay? That...that we’re okay?” he asked hesitantly.

Toothless resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Hiccup was acting like he’d been secretly seething with resentment this entire time; surely he of all people should know that dragons rarely dwelt on the past. *Come here*  he said instead, pawing at Hiccup to tug him into an embrace. Hiccup wrapped his arms around the thick black neck and whispered into his other half’s ear, “I love you, so much.”

*I love you too* Toothless crooned to him. *Silly. Are you going to get this emotional over all of my memories?*

“No” Hiccup shook his head and hugged Toothless even tighter. “Just the ones that matter.”

 


	2. Secret Apologies

*So let me guess* Toothless said when they finally ended the embrace, *You want to know what everyone said whilst you were unconscious all that time, don’t you?*

Hiccup hesitated. He couldn’t deny that he was curious...but if his friends had spoken to him when they thought he couldn’t hear, then they probably didn’t want him to know about it. Then again...didn’t he have a right to know what they were saying to him, or about him? Or maybe he didn’t want to know.

Eventually he shrugged and said, “I suppose the worst they can do is be upset that I know, and that’s if they ever find out. If I could keep you a secret for months, I can keep this one. But...how am I going to see what happened back then?” he wondered.

*Maybe I can show it to you* Toothless suggested. He rested his forehead against Hiccup’s, and tried to bring up the memories from the back of his mind. It had been so long since he’d thought about them...yet slowly but surely, Hiccup found himself seeing through Toothless’ eyes once more.

* * *

Hiccup still hasn’t woken up. It’s been days since we killed Her, and he’s been sleeping all that time. I...I’m starting to worry he might sleep forever. He’s lying in a nest of furs in this wood cave, and I sleep beside him so I can hear him breathing and his heart beating. Only I don’t really sleep, because I’m afraid I’ll wake up and he’ll be...

His sire and the other humans are trying to help him. They give him water, and something that looks like muddy water but smells and tastes like meat. ‘Stoick’ doesn’t like it when I drink the meat-water, but he does remember to give me fish to eat, so that’s good. The human’s Elder of Healing gives him herbs to put in Hiccup’s water to heal him.

I watch the humans, and I see from how Stoick talks with his voice and his body, and how all the other humans show him respect and obeisance, that he must be their Alpha. That means the way Hiccup’s pack-mates treat him - used to treat him - makes even less sense. He’s the offspring of their alpha, he should share his father’s rank, and yet all this time they’ve been treating him like the omega.

Stupid humans, can’t even get pack hierarchy right.

Stoick hasn’t slept much either. He has work to do, but he keeps coming back to sit beside Hiccup with me and beg him to wake up. I can tell he isn’t really happy with me being here, but he’s not saying anything because I saved his son’s life and he owes it to Hiccup not to get rid of me. I wouldn’t go even if he tried.

“Oh, son” he croons, brushing Hiccup’s hair out of his face. His paws are huge, but he’s very careful because Hiccup is fragile. “I’m so sorry. This is all my fault. I should have listened to you, and now...”

He trails off and sighs. “Gothi says you can hear us, but I wish you’d give us a sign, son” he says. ‘Gothi’ is the Elder of Healing. Still, he keeps talking, as if to get things off his chest. That’s why Hiccup talked to me in the cove, even though he didn’t know I could understand him. “I feel like I don’t even know you. You grew into a warrior when I wasn’t looking...I know I, uh, haven’t been the best father. I really tried, but it’s hard, being a father and a chief at the same time.

“The truth is, you remind me so much of your mother. Really, it’s uncanny. It’s just...when I look at you, sometimes all I can see is her, and think about how she...why she’s not here. I only ever wanted to protect you - the thought of a dragon coming and taking you away was...” his voice trembles a bit.

I feel bad for him all of a sudden. His mate - Hiccup’s dam - must have been killed in one of the raids, and maybe he didn’t know how to take care of Hiccup without his mother. Don’t the females in a human pack all help to take care of their young? Don’t they have crèches? I’m starting to wonder how they survive at all, if they don’t take care of each other.

I croon to Stoick, to try and comfort him. He stares at me - he looks surprised and a bit confused and he won’t stop staring, it’s creeping me out. I look away and go back to gazing at Hiccup. I don’t want to miss the moment he wakes up. I can feel Stoick still staring at me, but I ignore the prickling on my scales and ignore him.

After a while he speaks again. “I guess I should be glad he didn’t _let_ you carry him off” he says, and then he groans. “Odin help me, I must be mad. First I let a Night Fury into my house, now I’m talking to it as if it understands me...”

*You couldn’t keep me out of this nest if you tried. And I can understand you, actually. Dragons on the other side of the island can hear you. You’re very loud* I tell him. It’s a bit funny, talking to humans even though they can’t hear me, but only a bit.

He keeps looking at me, but he’s not being aggressive. He’s staring the way Hiccup used to watch me in the cove, as if he’s curious about me. I wonder what he’s thinking...I can’t tell from looking at him, all his signals are closed off. He’s well named. Finally he sighs and asks quietly, “You really do care about my son, don’t you dragon?”

So that’s why he kept staring...he was trying to understand how I’m feeling. Really, though, it’s a stupid question. Of course I care about Hiccup. I feel like I need to reply, but I don’t know how humans say ‘yes’ without words. I purr and nuzzle Hiccup very gently, to show him he’s right. From the way he gasps, I think maybe he understands.

“I guess the days of me shouting at him to get inside are finally over” Stoick says. “It’s not as if he ever stayed put anyway. And I suppose, if he’s with you...there’s nowhere safer he could be. But I’m warning you, dragon, if you do anything to hurt my boy...” he lets the threat hang, but I don’t really feel that threatened. We both know Hiccup would never let him get rid of me. And I would _never_ hurt Hiccup.

Stoick gets to his feet. “I have to go. Astrid and...and the others might come and visit him. So don’t burn the place down trying to defend him, you over-protective lizard” he warns me. I huff at him. *Look who’s talking*. I’m not going to set fire to Hiccup’s home, but if anyone wants to ‘visit’ him, they’ll have to get past me first. He needs rest.

* * *

I settle down on the other side of the bed, so I’m between Hiccup and the piece of wood humans put in the mouths of their caves. I think it’s called a ‘door’. I keep an eye on Hiccup and my ears on the outside, and I hear someone outside. I’m on alert at once, facing the door and bracing myself. If it’s anyone but Stoick, or the Elder of Healing, or that other male who I think might be the beta, they’re in for a fright.

The blond female puts her head inside the cave. I recognise her; Astrid, Hiccup’s desired. I know she’s no threat, but when she sees me, she starts to smell nervous. “Hey, Toothless. Hey, boy” she says softly, slipping inside the nest. She approaches me cautiously, and takes a fish from beneath her fake-skins. I realise then that I’m very hungry, but I won’t let my guard down that easily.

“Please? I just want to see Hiccup. I’m really worried about him” she says. I’m not really happy about this - Hiccup needs to rest and get better so he can wake up and be happy, but I accept her peace offering of fish and step aside. She approaches the bed and looks at him for a long time. Maybe staring is just a thing humans do, like how they show they’re happy by baring their teeth instead of purring or chirping like any sensible animal.

“Hey” she says finally. “I don’t know if you can hear me, but...I like to think you can. I think you’re just being stubborn” she huffs. “So, uh...thanks. For what you did. For us.” She brushes her long fur out of her eyes. “I just, uh...I just wanted to say sorry. For ignoring you all that time. It wasn’t fair and...we should have given you a chance.”

Hiccup moans, and we both startle. Is he waking up? He mumbles something in his sleep - it almost sounds like “Astrid” - and coughs. Then he’s sinking right back into this strange sleep that’s held him for days and days. When did Stoick leave? I can’t remember. He left, and Astrid came. I’m not sure what happened in between.

When he doesn’t stir anymore, Astrid smells disappointed. “Hiccup, I don’t say this to a lot of people...but _please_ wake up” she begs. “We...we miss you, you know.” She presses her mouth to his cheek very quickly, and then she too leaves. Perhaps now Hiccup can get some peace and quiet. No, wait...Stoick said the ‘others’ might come to see him. He must mean Hiccup’s peers, the other human fledglings that fought with us that day. 

* * *

Sure enough, after a few days one of them - the bulky one who rode the Rock-Tail - peeks inside the cave. When he sees me he smells very nervous and his eyes bug out. He edges inside, clutching a fish and staring at me in wonder. “Wow...” he says quietly, “I can’t believe I’m looking at a real live Night Fury!”

By now I’ve realised that ‘Night Fury’ is not the name these humans gave me, but the name they gave to my kind. It’s fitting, I suppose - it’s certainly a lot better than some of the other names they’ve come up with. Zippleback, for instance; what the heck even is a zipple? Still, it makes sense that he’s awed by me - I am pretty spectacular.

Awed - I’ll call him that until I learn his real name - shuffles a bit closer. “Hello...Toothless? Is that your name? Astrid said it was, and she said to give you fish...” he’s holding it out by his fingertips. So that’s what this is; they’re all going to bribe me with food to get past me and bother Hiccup. Nice try, Awed, but you won’t...by the moon that fish smells good...

I decide that Awed is no threat, and take the fish from him. He flinches even though I didn’t have my fangs out. I retreat, but watch him closely the whole time. He edges up to the nest and peers at Hiccup, patting the tips of his paws together. “Um, Hiccup? It’s me, Fishlegs” he says. Well at least now I know his...Wait, fish don’t even have legs!

‘Fishlegs’ goes on, “I just wanted to say I’m really, really sorry. I mean, we used to be friends, when we were little, but then I - I ditched you, just because I was too scared to stand up to the others. Maybe if we’d stuck together, things might have been different. So...I’m sorry, okay?” He pats the tips of his paws together again, and adds, “Please don’t die, Hiccup. You’ve still got to tell me all about your Night Fury.”

After that, he leaves. Stoick comes back and gives me fish, and sits with Hiccup for a while, but finally he yawns and trudges off to his own nest. I will watch over Hiccup for him. Dragons can stay awake much longer than humans.

* * *

A few days later, Hiccup still hasn’t woken, but he gets visitors again. The two clutch-mates, a male and a female, that rode the Twin-Head. They stare at me as well; I’m starting to get used to it; but they don’t smell scared, they smell excited. “Cool!” says the male, “Night Fury! As if Stoick’s keeping him in the house, that’s new.”

“Duh!” his clutch-mate retorts, “Of course he is! It’s Hiccup’s dragon. He’d go berserk if he woke up and it wasn’t there.” I ignore how insulting it is to be called an ‘it’ and purr in agreement. Hiccup would be very upset if he woke up and I wasn’t there, which is why I only leave his side to mark my territory, as it were.

“He’d go join the Berserkers?” male twin says in a puzzled way. “And uh, didn’t Astrid say it’s name was Toothless? And it was a he? You’re a boy dragon, right?” he asks me. How does he expect me to answer? Still, I guess it’s nice that they’re treating me like I can think, even if they do keep calling me an ‘it’.

“How’re we gonna get past him?” Female twin asks. The other one shrugs and asks, “Why would he name a dragon ‘Toothless?’”

I open my mouth and retract my teeth to show them why Hiccup gave me this name. They stare at me, and then male twin asks, “Uh, what is he doing?” How do they not get it?

“Oh, yeah! He probably wants this” female twin decides, pulling a fish out from under her fake skins. I could smell it before, but all of her smells like fish, so I couldn’t tell if she actually had a fish. She makes as if to throw it into my mouth; I close it, and the fish hits me on the nose.

“You don’t throw it at the _dragon_ , stupid” male twin scoffs. He waves a fish of his own in my face and talks as if to a very small hatchling. “Here, boy! Here dragon! You want the yummy fishy? Well...go get it!” He tosses the fish across the cave.

I give them both my best ‘are you kidding me’ look. I’ve learned that not all humans are as dumb as I used to think, but clearly some are. I still go to pick the fish up...there’s no sense in letting perfectly good food go to waste, after all.

Whilst they think I’m distracted, the twins approach Hiccup’s bed. “Is he still breathing?” asks female twin. Male twin replies, “let me check.” He reaches out to touch Hiccup, but a growl from me makes him freeze. Only Stoick, the beta ‘Gobber’, Gothi and I are allowed to touch Hiccup.

My little brother stirs and moans in his sleep. Female twin says “So, he is breathing then...that’s good. It’d be awkward if he wasn’t.”

“Yeah...so, what are we doing again?” asks male twin. He’s clearly the stupider one of the pair.

“Apologising to Hiccup for picking on him, duh!”

“You know he’s asleep, right?”

“Gothi said he could hear us. Just say sorry, okay?”

“Okay, okay! Sorry. Happy now?”

“No! Ugh, let me do it.” Female twin pushes her clutch-mate aside. “Hiccup? It’s us. We came to say sorry for picking on you for so long. You know, for calling you ‘useless’ and taking your things and playing some kind of mean pranks on you..."

“Oh, you mean like the time we pretended we were gonna sacrifice him to Loki, and he started crying? That was funny” says male twin. Funny?! I start to growl, but before I can reprimand him, his sister beats me to it. She hits him and hisses, “Shut up! You’re making it worse!”

“Sorry.”

“Good. So, yeah...what you did was really awesome, best explosion we’ve ever seen, and it sucks that you lost your leg...”

“It could’ve been worse. He could have been made ‘armless!” male twin laughs. “‘Armless! You get it!”

“Shh!” female twin hisses at him, as Hiccup moans again, “You’ll wake him up!”

“Uh, don’t we want him to wake up?”

“If we wake him up too soon, it might kill him.”

“Really?!”

“Yeah. That’s what Gothi said, anyway. We might give him a heart attack, or something.”

I’m getting tired of these two. I make to scare them out of the nest, but then Stoick comes inside. “What do you two think you’re doing in here?” he demands. They were trespassing?! Oh dear.

“Chief! How are you? Are those new braids in your beard?”

Stoick grabs male and female twin and throws them out of his nest. “Good job guarding my son, dragon” he glowers at me. I don’t show submission - he might be the human’s alpha, but he’s not mine - but I do feel ashamed. Hiccup needs me to watch over him, and I keep letting these fledglings bother him.

* * *

More days pass, and Hiccup still still still won’t wake wake up! He’s not getting worse, I think, but I don’t know if he’s getting better either. He smells less of sickness each day, but if he’s healing, then why hasn’t he woken yet? I feel horribly guilty, even though I know I saved his life.

The door opens and the human who rode the Fire-Scale pokes his head inside. I plant myself between Hiccup and this intruder, growling a warning. He’s scared, but he comes inside the cave anyway. “Stop that! Bad dragon. Shush!” Is he really trying to tell me what to do? This must be one of the fledglings that keeps coming to apologise to Hiccup. Why do they keep doing it when he’s asleep?

“You don’t scare me” this fledgling says, posturing. He is scared, but he’s pretending not to be. “Look, Stoick said I could be here, alright? Besides, Astrid said I had to do this. So take this stupid fish and leave me alone, okay?” Pretender insists, holding out a fish. I hold my ground. Not this time, I won’t let myself be bribed with food again. Hiccup is _not to be disturbed._

Pretender is frustrated. “Oh, come on! Everyone else got to see him, he lets them past, but _no_ , when Snotlout turns up of course Hiccup’s freaking pet dragon gets all defensive…” he mutters to himself. I bristle; I recognise his name. ‘Snotlout’ is the name of the fledgling that Hiccup told me bullied him the most, and then fawned over him the most. I would never trust a _dragon_ like that.

“Look, I have to do this, okay? Astrid will kill me if I don’t. So just let me past, will you?” he demands. I weigh my options; he _did_ say Stoick had given permission for him to come into this nest – although he might be lying. If he really is here to apologise…then I suppose I can humour him, just this once. I step aside, glaring at him the whole time. *I’ve got my eyes on you, human.*

‘Snotlout’ edges past me and up to Hiccup’s nest of furs. He fidgets on the spot, opening and closing his mouth like a fish. It looks kind of funny, but I hold back a chortle. “Hey. So, uh…ugh, why does this have to be so hard? Look, I know we’ve never gotten along. I mean, I’m a real Viking and you’re just, y’know, _you_. But I guess…you’re not as much of a useless wimp as I always thought you were.” Wow. This is what he calls an apology? No, wait, he’s not finished.

“This doesn’t mean we’re friends now, or anything” he says defensively, “but I gotta admit, the way you took out that huge dragon was pretty cool” he mumbles. They all talk about how Hiccup (and me, remember?) killed the Queen, but that’s not what makes him worthwhile. “Yeah, so, I’m…you know… _sorry_ ” he says through gritted teeth, “for…all of it, I guess.”

He leaves in quite a hurry after that, but not before tossing me the fish. As I eat it, I think about these fledglings coming to apologise to Hiccup. I suppose it’s good that they did, even though I don’t understand why they’re doing it now instead of when he’s really awake. Maybe they’ll apologise again when he does wake up. I refuse to believe he won’t. I don’t know if this is enough to make up for everything they’ve done to him…but I suppose it’s a start.

* * *

Hiccup blinked several times, curled and uncurled his fingers, and pulled a face. *Ugh…I can still taste the raw fish* he complained, spitting _disgust._ He got to his feet and went to the cove pool for a drink to try and wash the taste out of his mouth. Toothless followed behind him, demanding indignantly, *What’s wrong with raw fish?*

*Nothing, if you’re a dragon* Hiccup replied, rinsing his mouth. He knelt by the lake and looked down into the clear water thoughtfully. *I do remember them saying that stuff…bits of it, anyway. I just thought it was a dream…* He looked over at Toothless and asked, *So how long did it take you to learn the twin’s real names?*

*They have real names?* Toothless asked innocently. Hiccup snickered. *I still don’t know why they apologised when you were asleep. It would have meant more if you’d been awake.*

*I guess there’s only one way to find out; I’ll ask them about it tomorrow. But since we’re here…* He closed his eyes, focused, and transformed into his Night Fury form. Then he gave Toothless a gummy grin and asked mischievously, *You wanna race?*

Toothless jumped to his feet and spread his own wings. *On three?*

*Sure. Three!* Hiccup leapt into the air, beating his wings as hard as he could to gain altitude.

*What the – hey! Get back here!* Toothless roared after him, giving chase, both of them laughing.

* * *

The next day, Hiccup got all his friends to gather in the training ring by saying he had something important to tell them. “Alright, we’re all here. So what’s going on?” asked Astrid, when they were all standing in a loose circle in the middle of the ring.

Hiccup looked around at them all and took a deep breath. “So, Toothless and I have this dreamworld, you know, but we’ve also been living through each other’s memories. We dream about our old adventures, but from each other’s point of view. So I feel as if I’m him, and he feels as if he’s me. You follow?” Fishlegs and Astrid seemed to, but the uncomprehending stares of Snotlout and the twins were…unsurprising, actually.

“Did you drag us all the way out here just to tell us about your dream?” Snotlout demanded, “That sounds like something Fishface would do.” He ignored the indignant glare Fishlegs gave him.

“Yes, and no. I found out that…that you guys apologised to me, whilst I was in that coma after the Red Death’s…um, death. I saw it all through Toothless’ eyes. And we both wondered…why didn’t you guys wait until I’d woken up?” he asked.

“Cos waking you up would have killed you” Tuffnut announced blithely.

“And you were dying” added Ruffnut.

Fishlegs rolled his eyes. “What they mean is, no-one really knew when you were gonna wake up” he explained to Hiccup.

Astrid added, “Nobody knew for sure… _if_ you were going to wake up. So we…we thought we’d better apologise whilst we knew you were still alive, even if you couldn’t hear us…before it was too late.”

“And we were going to apologise again after you woke up” said Fishlegs.

“I wasn’t” declared Snotlout.

“We were?” asked Tuffnut. Astrid punched them both.

“If you were mad at us” Fishlegs went on, as if he’d not been interrupted. “Only, you weren’t. You didn’t mention it. So…we didn’t either.” It had been easier, to pretend none of it had ever happened and that everything was okay, after it was clear that Hiccup was making a full recovery.

Hiccup smiled wryly. “It’s okay. I appreciate the thought anyway, and you guys have made up for it and then some. Besides, Thor himself knows that the day Snotlout admits he was wrong about something is the day Ragnarok begins.” They all laughed.

“Hey!” Snotlout protested, “That’s not true. I admitted I was wrong about overworking Hookfang until he got sick, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, you did” Hiccup admitted, “So, do you guys want to do something? I was just thinking, we haven’t hung out for a while…”

“Don’t you and T have, like, Alpha stuff to do?” asked Tuffnut.

“Well, we were going to check in on Dragon Island, make sure our subjects there aren’t trying to stage a coup or something” Hiccup replied, only half-seriously. “You wanna come with?”

“Sure, I’m up for a trip out to Dragon Island” smiled Astrid.

Fishlegs added, “Just like the old days.”

The six of them mounted up, and as their dragons flew in V formation with Hiccup and Toothless in the lead, he reflected on how far they’d come since the early days of the Academy, and how much further they still had to go.

Then Snotlout called a race…so of course he and Toothless had to step up. They _were_ the Alphas, after all.


	3. One of Us

Restless, Toothless awoke. It was the second night back on Berk since they’d returned from Myrkr. For a moment he wondered if he should just go back to sleep; after all, there wasn’t much he could do awake but watch Hiccup sleep - not that he did anything like that, of course.

He remembered then that he and Hiccup were heart bound now, his rider could understand him. Perhaps Hiccup would even be willing to come with him. The bubble of hope burst when he recalled that they were both grounded. Stoick’s orders.

Toothless slumped on his slab, eyes hooded with exasperation. Hiccup was probably too tired anyway. He lay there and sulked, forgetting that Hiccup could sense his emotions now...It wasn’t long before the young man stirred. “Ngh...Toothless?”

The dragon lifted the tail-fin that had been draped over his face and peered with luminous green eyes at his human. A pale, freckled face, half hidden in shadow, looked back at him with concern. “You okay, bud? You seem kind of stressed” Hiccup murmured.

Toothless cooed an apology. *Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up.* Hiccup merely shook his head and sat up in bed. “What’s wrong? Did you have a bad dream?”

*No, it’s not that* Toothless replied with an affectionate slow blink. *I just can’t sleep.*

Hiccup hummed thoughtfully. Toothless had told him that the dragons would often leave their nests and stables to fly and play at night, away from humans. “Do you want to go out and play?” he asked, a bit of a teasing note in his voice. “Big baby boo?”

Toothless grumbled and rolled his eyes at the playful insult. “I don’t mind if you do, y’know. Besides, you can fly on your own now.

*Don’t want to. Come flying with me.*

“Oh, buddy, I wish I could.”

*You can! Your dad forbade you from riding me. If I’m wearing this*, he flicked the auto-tail, *then I’d just be carrying you, so it’s okay.*

Hiccup stifled a snigger. “Yeah...I don’t think he’d see it that way.”

*Since when do you ever do as you’re told?* Toothless grumbled. *And he won’t see anything, he’s asleep.*

Hiccup fought the temptation. “I heard him go out on patrol earlier. It’s not that I don’t want to...but I’ve probably pushed my luck enough as it is. If my dad catches me flying with you, he’ll probably tie me to a chair” he said jokingly. “...And not trust me on my own ever again.”

Toothless sighed. *So we’re still grounded. Wonderful.*

“You’re not grounded.”

*I don’t want to fly without you* Toothless insisted. *Look, just go back to sleep. You’re tired. Besides, we wouldn’t be able to do anything if we did go out.* Then again, given Hiccup’s uncanny ability to find and get into trouble even on the ground...he saw his human looking thoughtful and had to suppress a groan.

“We don’t have to fly. We could just...I mean, I can understand you guys now. I’d like to, y’know, meet the others properly. Unless...do you guys have a ‘no humans allowed’ rule, or something?” asked Hiccup.

*No, not really. And you’re pretty much an honorary dragon anyway...* Toothless was interrupted when a familiar Zippleback head poked in through the skylight. *Hurry up, Toothless!* hissed Barf. *Aren’t you coming?*

“Yes, we are” Hiccup replied before Toothless could. Barf rolled down an eye to peer at him and chittered excitedly. *Hello Hiccup. Belch, say hello to Hiccup*. He withdrew, and the second head poked in the skylight. *Hello Hiccup* Belch said dutifully. Hiccup grinned. “Hi guys.”

*Bring Hiccup with you* Belch told Toothless. Barf echoed him. *Yes! Bring Hiccup!*

*I said that!*

* _We_ said that!*

Belch retreated from the skylight to snap and bicker with his twin-head. Toothless rolled his eyes. Hiccup just snickered. He began getting dressed, and Toothless resigned himself to his fate. He clearly wouldn’t be able to talk Hiccup out of this. He climbed up and leapt out of the window onto the frosty grass below.

*Where is your saddle?* asked Barf.

*How will Hiccup ride you?* inquired Belch.

Toothless huffed, half frustrated, half resigned. *He can’t. His sire forbade him from flying for a moon-turn to punish him for going to Myrkr alone* he explained. Barf&Belch looked at one another, and back at Toothless.

*And he still-*

*Wants to come?* they asked in tandem.

Before Toothless could answer, Hiccup beat him to it. “I sure do.” He dropped from the skylight onto Toothless’ back and asked, “So what now?”

*Now we go to the far side of the island. Are you sure we can’t fly there? It’ll be so much quicker, and nobody’s around. I bet Stoick isn’t even on patrol. You probably just mistook his snores for Skull Crusher taking off* said Toothless. Hiccup sniggered. Then he looked up at the sky...the perfectly clear, temptingly beautiful sky.

He bit his lip. “The other side of the island, did you say? I guess...it wouldn’t hurt to make a quick hop...just to wherever we need to go” he relented...trying to make himself sound more reluctant than he actually felt. Toothless warbled happily. *I’m glad you see sense; hold on tight!*

Hiccup wrapped his arms around the dragons neck as Toothless leapt into the air. The ball of guilt in his stomach at disobeying his father again was left behind in that first exquisite downbeat. Toothless followed B&B as they winged towards the forests on the far side of the island, away from the village.

* * *

The two dragons - or was it three? - landed in a clearing in the forest, on the slopes of the mountain. The other dragons were there already, including Selena and Shadow. She perked up - literally - at the sight of them, and bounded over. *Toothless, Hiccup! I’m glad you’re here, I didn’t think you would come out.*

Shadow’s eyes narrowed, suspicious. *You flew here? I thought you said Hiccup wasn’t allowed to ride you?* he asked Toothless. On his back, Hiccup cringed sheepishly. Toothless snorted dismissively and replied, *He wasn’t riding me. I carried him.*

*How is that different?*

*It just is, okay? Look, it’s only bad if his sire finds out, and his sire doesn’t need to know. It’s not like any of us can tell him* Toothless said confidently.

*I’m surprised, Toothless* rumbled Hookfang, *I didn’t think you’d bring Hiccup with you.*

*Why wouldn’t I?*

*It’s so dangerous out here!* the Fire-Scale whimpered mockingly. *He might get cold and sick and die! Or get a cut that gets diseased and die!*

“Oh come on, I’m not that weak” Hiccup protested, feeling a bit put out. Toothless shook his head. *No, no, he’s making fun of me, not you. He’s always mocking me for being protective of you; just because he wouldn’t know compassion if it bit him in the rump.*

Hookfang hissed at him, clearly insulted. It didn’t help that several other dragons laughed, clicking or chattering or hough-hough-hough-ing. *Just ignore him; he likes to pretend he’s better than everyone else* Toothless added loftily, nose in the air. Hiccup didn’t know whether to laugh or scold him for being arrogant.

Hookfang drew himself up, spreading his wings to look bigger and more imposing. *I am better. I’m a Fire-Scale; a proud, mighty-*

*Selfish git?*

Hookfang’s head snapped down to glare right into Toothless’ eyes, the two dragons baring their teeth and snarling at each other. *You think you’re so special, don’t you, Only-Night-Fury-On-Berk? Do you think you’re better than me?*

*I kicked your tail when we first met and I can do it again. I _know_ that I’m better than you* Toothless growled back. Hiccup had dismounted, for which he was glad, because his muscles burned with the urge to wrestle Hookfang and put the Fire-Scale in his place...

Hiccup stepped fearlessly between the two, placing a hand on each muzzle and pushing them away from each other. He could barely move them, but he caught them off guard. “You two need to calm down; and you need to stop antagonising him” he said warningly to Toothless. The black dragon growled, protesting. “I mean it, Toothless. Be the bigger dragon here.*

* _I’m_ the bigger dragon.*

“It’s a figure of speech.” When Toothless and Hookfang had moved away from each other, Hiccup looked up at the Fire-Scale and asked, “Hookfang, are you...jealous, of Toothless?” He looked around at the clustered dragons and again, asked “Are any of you jealous?”

The dragons looked sideways at each other and shifted on their paws and groomed themselves, suddenly very awkward. Finally, Stormfly spoke up. *It’s not that we’re jealous...it just gets a bit tiresome sometimes, hearing you humans talk about how incredible and unique Toothless is* she explained.

*Please don’t be mad* Meatlug pleaded.

“Oh, I’m not mad” Hiccup assured her hastily. “I...I’m sorry. I - we didn’t mean to make you guys feel like, well...” he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “I guess we did lay it on a bit thick, huh?”

*You were sort of right* Stormfly said fairly, *Toothless was the only dragon like him you’d ever seen.*

*There are lots and lots of Spike-Tails and Rock-Tails and Fire-Scales and Twin-Heads here on this dragon-and-human island* said Barf.

*But there was only one Swift-Wing, until now* Belch finished, bobbing his head at Selena and Shadow.

*Hiccup’s sire rides the only Charger on the island, and Gobber rides the only Wing-Sleeper on the island* Barf said thought-fully.

*That’s true* his brother-head agreed. *Maybe Hiccup’s kin are just good at bonding with only-one dragons*. He paused. *What were we talking about?*

*We were talking about how Hookfang is a selfish git.*

*I am not!* Flames licked briefly across Hookfang’s scales. *What makes you think I’m selfish?*

The dragons gave each other very clear ‘is he kidding us?’ looks. *You have to be talked into doing anything nice for anyone but yourself* Stormfly replied.

*You boast and make fun of the rest of us all the time* said Meatlug.

*You abandon your rider on a whim* added Toothless.

A thought occurred to Hiccup. “Hey, Hookfang?” The sulking Fire-Scale stared down at him. “Do you...not like being ridden?” he asked hesitantly.

Hookfang snorted in disdain. *If I didn’t like it, I would have just flown off. I’m not as selfish as you think I am; I’m happy to let humans ride me. I don’t know how you ground-walkers get anywhere on those sticks you call legs. Especially you. No offence.*

Hiccup’s mouth twisted, half insulted and half amused. “None taken. Okay, it’s good that you don’t mind being ridden...but, um, why don’t you listen to Snotlout much? Actually I might have just answered my own question. I know how Snotlout is, but he does care about you.”

Hookfang’s gaze softened a bit. *I know that...but Snotlout is a warrior, a survivor, like me. He doesn’t need to be followed and watched over like a hatchling* he explained, with a pointed sidelong glance at Toothless. *And I don’t abandon him; not when he’s in trouble anyway. But I’m not going to do what he says just because he tells me to; especially when he’s just showing off for a female.*

Hiccup considered how Snotlout usually instructed Hookfang, and grimaced sympathetically. “Yeah, okay, I see your point. So does that mean you’d listen to him more if he was polite?” he wondered.

*Good luck with that* Toothless snorted. Stormfly and Meatlug chittered and gurgled respectively in agreement. Snotlout’s reputation clearly preceded him, and Hiccup had to stifle a laugh. He quickly lost that battle; there was nobody there but the dragons, and heck, Snotlout would waste no time in laughing at him if the situation was the other way around. He shouldn’t feel too bad...right?

Toothless gave him an odd look as he giggled. *It wasn’t that funny* the black dragon protested, bemused. The other dragons were unconcerned; typical crazy humans. Hiccup caught his breath and grinned apologetically. “Sorry. I shouldn’t be...ahem. Err, y’know, maybe I could...talk to Snotlout for you? Get him to treat you with a bit more respect?” he suggested to Hookfang.

The Fire-Scale drew his head back with a snort of surprise. *Would you do that? You know he won’t listen* he replied doubtfully. Hiccup shrugged. “I can be pretty persuasive. But look, you’d have to play your part too, okay? If I convince Snotlout to show you more respect, you need to listen to him when he does. Deal?”

He held his hand out. Hookfang peered at it in bemusement, prompting Hiccup to glance down and realise... “I’m trying to shake hands with a dragon. I have officially lost my mind” he deadpanned. He turned his hand so his palm was facing Hookfang’s snout, and smiled encouragingly.

*You mean you want me to behave?* Hookfang demanded, hissing incredulously.

*It’s only fair* Stormfly insisted, *The rest of us listen to our humans.

*Sometimes we don’t.*

*That’s because our humans can’t agree on what to tell us to do.*

*Oh, right.*

Hiccup’s arm was starting to get tired. “C’mon, Hookfang. You’ve gotta meet me halfway here - literally. Do we have a deal?” he asked again. He knew dragons understood the idea of ‘fair is fair’; paying the deeds done to oneself in kind. A mutual show of respect wasn’t too much to ask.

At last Hookfang relented, and pressed his rough muzzle with surprising care against Hiccup’s palm. *Alright, little human. Deal. But I’m not going to be a good little kitty cat like Toothless, and if you don’t get Snotlout to show me the respect that I, a mighty Fire-Scale, deserve, I’ll eat you* he informed Hiccup, baring his fangs.

“Fair enough” Hiccup deadpanned. He knew - or at least he hoped - that Hookfang was only joking. He looked around at the dragons - who had accepted him and his new bond with Toothless so quickly- and smiled. “You guys are amazing. You really are.”

*We know* Stormfly chirped, preening. Everyone laughed.

*So what should we do now?* Selena asked eagerly, *What do you guys do for fun around here?* 

*Oh, all sorts of things* Stormfly tossed her head, *Play at hunting, race each other, play fire games out on the sea stacks. All the usual stuff.*

*Or we play pranks on the humans* Barf cackled.

*Yeah! Like when we took a bite out of all those boots that horrid old human left piled up in the arena* Belch added...both he and his brother-head froze when they glanced at the human in their midst. Hiccup leaned back against Toothless and raised an eyebrow, smirking at them. They looked at one another and in unison declared *Whoops.*

*What do you want to do, Hiccup?* asked Selena.

He thought about it; he wanted to do something fun, but that wouldn’t get him into too much trouble (relatively speaking) if his father came across them. The perfect idea came to him, and he grinned around at the clearing full of dragons, all looking at him curiously. “Anybody up for snow-surfing?”

* * *

*This is demeaning* Shadow complained, as they stood on the ledge overlooking the highest slope of Berk’s mountain. Beside him, Selena swatted him with her tail and protested *Lighten up, Shadow! This looks like fun!*

He resisted the urge to snort dismissively at her; she was of a higher rank, even if she didn’t entirely act like it. *This is a game for hatchlings!* he protested, waving his tail at the dragons lining up to slide on their bellies across the pristine snow covered slope.

Hiccup looked back up at the rock that Shadow was perched on and said “You don’t have to play if you don’t want to. Everyone else ready?” he asked the dragons on either side of them, Stormfly and Meatlug on their right, Hookfang and B&B on their left.

*First one to the bottom of the slope wins* said Toothless.

*So not Hookfang then, cos he’ll set himself on fire and sink into the snow again* Barf snickered.

*Hey! That only happened once!* Hookfang protested.

Hiccup laughed. “On three, yeah? One...two...three!”

Five laughing dragons bounded forwards and slid on their stomachs down the slope. Toothless, Selena and Stormfly got the lead, small and streamlined as they were; then Meatlug pulled ahead. Even from the ledge, they could hear the howls of indignation that using her wings to propel herself was cheating.

Shadow shook his head, snorting disdain...only to yelp in surprise as Selena pounced on him from behind and pushed him off the rock. He hit the compacted snow and ice, skidding down the steep slope and flailing for balance, wings and tail askew. Selena skidded past him, wings tucked in, roaring excitedly. *Can’t catch me!*

His yelp of surprise turned into a growl - that sounded like a challenge!

Shadow tucked his wings in and raced down the slope determinedly...a small part of him had to admit that this was actually sort of fun.

* * *

Hiccup laughed as they plunged down the mountainside, crouching low astride Toothless’ back. Flecks of snow flung by the biting wind stung his face and got in his eyes, his ears thundered with the howl of the wind and the shrieks of racing dragons, his nose and fingers were numb with cold, and his thighs were getting sore.

“YEAH!” He could not have wiped the grin on his face even if he’d wanted to. The icy crust over the snow, combined with the smooth scales of Toothless’ underside, meant that they were well in the lead (he had once jokingly asked why Night Furies weren’t called ‘Smooth-Scales’, but they’d just said that most dragons had smooth undersides, so it wasn’t really a defining trait).

Out of nowhere, spikes flashed across their path, forcing Toothless to jinx away and slow down. Stormfly slid past them like a large beaked sled, cackling. *Stormfly!* Toothless roared indignantly, angling his body back on course and trying to pull his wings in tighter, to go faster. That was the trouble with snow-surfing – he was at the mercy of the elements, and could not rely on his own impressive speed.

Hiccup tapped his head for attention; he glanced up and saw his rider was pointing at a snow covered rock jutting up of the ground ahead of him. Stormfly would pass it first, and closer. Then Hiccup gave the ‘fire’ signal. Purring in approval, Toothless charged a blast and aimed it at the rock. The bolt struck true, just as Stormfly was nearing the rock.

She squawked in surprise and jerked away from the sudden explosion, spikes twitching all along her tail. Toothless-Hiccup shot past the charred rock like a huge scaly arrow. They were going to win! But then, of course, it all went wrong.

*AVALANCHE!* roared Hookfang. The dragons scrambled to dig their claws into the snow and spread their wings to fly; Toothless did the same, only to find himself falling back to the ground. “What the-?” Hiccup looked at the tail-fin and realised that it had frozen shut. How had he missed that?

He quickly dismounted and tried to tug the tail-fin open. *There’s no time!* Toothless hissed at him, *Let’s just run!*

“No! I’ve almost got it…come on…” Hiccup grit his teeth in frustration, wrestling with the contraption.

*Hiccup!*

At Toothless’ urgent roar, Hiccup looked up and saw what seemed lil a wall of white bearing down on them. It was rushing towards them much faster than he liked, and even if he and Toothless did run, there was no way they’d get out of the way in time. He only had moments to decide what to do, but then it was taken out of his hands, as large claws wrapped around him and lifted him bodily from the ground.

Gasping as the wind was knocked out of him, Hiccup could only look down helplessly as the avalanche swept beneath him and right over – “Toothless!” He searched frantically for a sign of his friend, for where he was buried –

*Yes?*

Shocked, Hiccup looked up, and sighed in relief at the welcome, if amusingly undignified, sight of Toothless clutched in Hookfang’s claws. “Oh, thank Thor. You’re okay! Are you okay?”

*I’m fine. Can you put me down, ‘Fang?*

*Sure thing, gummy* Hookfang replied, rumbling _amusement._

Toothless’ eyes narrowed. *I will bite you.*

Hookfang and Stormfly dropped Toothless and Hiccup into the snow; the other dragons gathered around them. *You two are insane!* Shadow snarled at them, but the way his ears pinned back and his pupils didn’t narrow showed he was worried more than angry. *You could have been killed!*

*Don’t be so dramatic* Toothless rolled his eyes. *It was just snow. As if a little avalanche could hurt me* he boasted, raising his jaw proudly. No, he was not preening in front of Selena, he was just…stating the obvious. He _wouldn’t_ have been killed. Shadow was overreacting.

*It never got the chance* Hookfang said smugly, before adding *I’m waiting, you know.*

*Oh, right. Thank you, Hookfang. For helping me. I appreciate it.*

*You’re welcome. It _was_ a rather impressive feat, wasn’t it, snatching you up in the nick of time* the Fire-Scale preened.

“Yeah, thanks guys. You two were great – I mean, wow! I can’t believe you pulled that off! I mean, I can. It happened. Obviously. But it was _so_ close – if you had crashed into each other, all four of us would’ve been buried. Oh man, that would be such a good trick to use in battle or in the next dragon race…” Already his mind was whirling with possibilities.

*It was my idea to do it in the race* explained Stormfly. *We’ve been practicing together some nights.*

*Competing. She means we’ve been competing.*

Hiccup blinked, confused. “Wait…practicing with who? Or what?”

*With the sheep, of course* replied Hookfang, as if it were obvious.

*We put them back!* Stormfly added hastily, *We promise!*

Hiccup grinned, too happy to protest. Then Selena asked, *What are sheep? And what’s the dragon race? Can we do it?*

*The sheep are those fluffy prey-beasts the humans keep and don’t like dragons eating* explained Hookfang.

*And the dragon races are a game we play with our riders. All the humans watch us try to catch the sheep and drop them in a net, and whoever catches the black sheep wins* Stormfly described.

*Sounds fun* Selena crooned happily, *And so was the snow-surfing! At least until the avalanche. Even Shadow was doing it! After I gave him a little nudge, that is* she revealed, playfully batting the drake next to her with her wing.

All eyes turned to Shadow, who pawed at the ground awkwardly. *It was…okay, I admit, it was kind of fun. Not as good as flying, though.*

Selena looked up at the stars and purred loudly. *It’s such a beautiful night. Oh! I can see my sire’s star from here. Hi dad!* she warbled, shooting a small plasma blast straight up in the air.

Bewildered, Hiccup looked up at the bejewelled sky. “You can see your what?” he asked, confused.

*When a dragon dies, their soul goes beyond the sky. That’s what the stars are; the heart-fires of dragons who have come before, and the brightest ones are those of heart bound pairs* Toothless told him. He scanned the sky, then raised his tail and tried to point with the tip of it. *See those two stars just there?*

“Those two?” Hiccup asked, pointing.

*No, that way.*

“…Those two?” he inquired more uncertainly.

*Yes.* Toothless crooned in a melancholy sort of way. *Those are the stars of our parents, mine and Shadows* he explained. First his brother, then he, solemnly fired plasma blasts up into the sky in a fiery acknowledgement. And perhaps it was only Hiccup’s imagination, but he could have sworn that the pair of stars twinkled back in return.

“How…do you know which stars are who?” he asked quietly, craning his head back to take in the array of stars spread across the dome of the night sky.

*You just know. You feel it.*

“If the stars are heart-fires, what about the sun?”

*The sun is the heart-fire of the Great Dragon who made the world* revealed Stormfly. *He guards the world by day, and the moon watches over the world by night.*

“Wow…” Hiccup looked up at the stars, too many to count, and wondered… “Can humans be stars?”

Hookfang snorted. *Humans don’t have heart-fires* he said.

*But they burn their dead* Meatlug pointed out, *So…maybe?*

“Do you think…my mom’s a star up there?” he murmured, trying to find a star that he felt…knew…was her. There were so many of them, and he didn’t feel any different. Toothless nuzzled him gently. *I’m sure wherever she is, she’s proud of you* he told Hiccup, who smiled gratefully at him. “Thanks, bud. I’m sure your dam is proud of you, too.”

Selena gave a happy, amused trill. *When I was a hatchling, I thought the stars were fireflies, that got stuck up there* she revealed. They all chuckled at that. Feeling more confident, Hiccup decided to share one of his own people’s legends. “Us Vikings, our sagas say that the spirits of the sun, Sól, and the moon, Máni, are being chased across the sky every day and night by wolves called Hati and Skoll.”

*Wolves can’t fly* Shadow protested dubiously.

“Well, they could if they were magic wolves” Hiccup shrugged.

*What if we’re all wrong?* Barf wondered out of nowhere.

*What if the stars are really huge, huge balls of burning gas?* suggested Belch.

*And they only look tiny because they’re so, so, so far away?*

The other dragons all clicked or grunted _disdain,_ rolling their eyes. *You Twin-Heads think _everything_ is about gas* Hookfang scoffed. *Now, I’m wondering, should we hide?*

“You want to play hide and seek?”

*No, it’s just that Skull Crusher is flying this way and your sire is riding him* Hookfang explained casually, gesturing with his snout.

“ _What?!_ ” Hiccup yelped. Sure enough, he saw Skull Crusher and his father silhouetted against the stars. “No, no, no! He must have seen – you guys have gotta distract them! Toothless and I have to get home before dad does!”

* * *

The tail-fin was still stuck, but perhaps that was for the best; the sight of _three_ Night Furies in the sky would have made his father more than just a bit suspicious. Toothless’ claws tore up dirt as he bounded home, Hiccup on his shoulders, black scales and his riders’ dark clothes camouflaging them amongst the shadows.

They scrambled up to the roof and through the skylight into Hiccup’s room. He dismounted and dove into bed, throwing the blanket over his head. Toothless curled up on his sleeping stone, not bothering to heat it back up. Their hearts were hammering like fast-beating wings.

After what felt like ages, they heard the door creak open, still feigning sleep. Stoick looked in on them, seeing Hiccup in his bed and Toothless on his slab. “Hmm. I guess it was just those other two Furies. Honestly, what dragon won’t follow that boy home?” he shook his head as he closed the door behind him.

He didn’t see Hiccup and Toothless peek at each other, their eyes glittering with suppressed mirth and the excitement that came with breaking rules and getting away with it.

Hiccup closed his eyes and tried to get to sleep. It wasn’t long, though, before he heard a soft croon and a tentative *Hiccup? Are you still awake?* He opened his eyes and found Toothless’ only inches from his own, muzzle resting on the edge of the bed.

“Can’t you sleep?” he whispered.

*No. I mean, yes. I mean…* He huffed at himself and tried to explain. *Just before, when we were talking about the stars…it got me thinking.*

“About your parents?”

*Them, and…I’m really glad we’re heart bound.*

Hiccup blinked, and then smiled. “I’m glad we’re heart bound as well.”

Toothless still looked uneasy. *You don’t know why I’m glad.*

“Why?”

His other half’s eyes were big and vulnerable, and Hiccup’s heart ached. He reached out. “C’mon, hey. Talk to me.”

Leaning into the touch, Toothless closed his eyes and said *I don’t like what-ifs, and now that we’re heart bound, the what-if I dread the most will never be an ‘is’.* He opened his eyes and met Hiccup’s eyes, who looked at him questioningly. *You dying before me.*

Hiccup’s breath caught in his throat, but Toothless wasn’t finished. *Every time* he whined, *Every time I almost lost you, I’d have nightmares. Whenever you were kidnapped. That time under the ocean. All the times I wasn’t there, thinking what if I didn’t reach you in time? What if I wasn’t smart enough, or strong enough...* He was whimpering now, at the thought of it.

Petting him soothingly, Hiccup murmured, *Whenever you were taken away from me. The blue oleander, the dragon-root arrow. I had nightmares too. I know, bud. I know. But now…I’ll always be with you. I’ll fight tooth and nail to stay by your side.”

*So will I* Toothless promised, before blinking. *Wait. Is ‘tooth and nail’ your human way of saying ‘fang and claw’? That’s adorable* he said, purring _amusement._

Hiccup rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah.” He yawned. “Think you can get to sleep now?”

The dragon purred and licked his cheek. *Goodnight, Hiccup.*

“Night, Toothless. Sweet dreams…”

* * *

The next morning, when he woke up, Hiccup didn’t feel so good. His head was throbbing, his throat felt dry, and his nose… “Ugh” he groaned, sitting up and sniffling. Toothless crooned _concern_ from his slab and asked, *Are you alright?*

“I’m f-f-f” – a tickle in his nose had him sneezing a rather disgusting amount of snot onto his blanket. Eww. “…I might have a cold.”

It finally occurred to him that maybe going out in the middle of the night to play in the snow hadn’t been such a great idea after all.


	4. Phantoms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own HTTYD
> 
> A/N: This is set in the HBS ‘verse but takes place in the early seasons, before the events of ‘Heart Bound’.

_“Not everyone has phantom pains, but everyone has phantoms, ghosts of the past, skeletons in the closet..._

* * *

 

Toothless’ Pain 

When Hiccup woke in the middle of the night, at first he didn’t know why. A moment later he heard the sound that had woken him in the first place; a muffled, drawn out moan. At first he thought it was just the wind, but it was coming from inside the house...he sat up and looked over at Toothless’ bed. The black dragon was curled up on it, biting down hard - without teeth - on his own tail.

He briefly met Hiccup’s eyes before closing those light green orbs and whimpering, obviously in pain. Before he knew it, Hiccup was scrambling to strap on his prosthetic and hobble over to his friend’s side. “Toothless! What’s wrong, bud?” he asked, crouching at the side of the stone slab. “Is there something wrong with your tail?” he asked. Toothless let him examine it, digging his claws into the rock.

Hiccup was puzzled; there was no injury on the tail or the fin, as far as he could see. Toothless let out another pain-filled cry. “W-what is it?” Hiccup asked worriedly, “There’s nothing wrong with...” He trailed off, and wanted to kick himself. There was nothing wrong with Toothless’ tail - except that part of it was missing. Pushing away the feelings of guilt - now was not the time - he tried to help.

“Phantom pain” he realised. He’d gotten it himself, feeling the pain of losing his leg because he didn’t remember what had happened, but his body did. He hadn’t realised dragons could get it as well; how often had Toothless been hurting like this, and he’d never noticed?! “Oh, I am so, so sorry, bud. I’m here, it’s okay” he murmured soothingly, stroking the tail fin and rubbing it, trying to get the blood flowing.

He shifted to sit on the edge of the slab, holding Toothless’ tail in his hands and running his palm along the frayed, maimed edge. The dragon shifted and laid his head against Hiccup’s side, crooning softly. His pupils, which had been slitted in pain, were rounder. “Is that helping?” Hiccup whispered, methodically sliding his right hand along the scar and massaging where the fin met the tail.

Toothless glanced up at him and purred softly. Hiccup imagined him saying, _thank you_. “Anything for you” he smiled, and never stopped stroking the tail. The dragon’s whimpers faded, and became purrs. At last he gently tugged his tail from Hiccup’s grasp, and nuzzled him. Then he nudged Hiccup, gesturing with his snout at the boy’s own bed. “Will you be okay now?” Hiccup asked, still concerned.

In reply, Toothless chirped at him and nudged him again. Hiccup gave him a pat and stood up. “Let me know if it starts hurting you again” he said as he took off the peg leg and crawled back under the covers. “I’ll be right there” he yawned. Toothless rested his head on his paws and watched his human sleep, filled with love and gratitude. He licked his tail, soothing the last traces of pain, and closed his eyes.

* * *

 

Hiccup’s Pain 

Toothless had just finished marking his territory when he heard, from inside the wood cave Hiccup shared with his sire, a weak cry. “Toothless?” His human sounded pained, and the dragon immediately leapt back up to the roof, scrambling in through the skylight. Hiccup was sitting up in bed, gritting his teeth, hands wrapped tight around the stump of his left leg. Toothless crooned in sympathy, and nuzzled him.

There were tears in Hiccup’s eyes. A particularly bad twinge made him cry out, and he bit his own knuckles to muffle it, as if trying to hide his pain. Toothless wasn’t sure why; if there were a threat nearby, perhaps, but he was safe here. Safe, but in pain, so Toothless pressed close and let Hiccup cling to him, burying his face against smooth scales. The boy never stopped clutching his leg, and Toothless realised...

Biting without teeth on his tail, making it numb, dulled the pain on the rare occasion he too got these ‘phantom pains’. Recently, he’d discovered that Hiccup stroking the scarred side of his tail helped too. With this in mind, Toothless hid his fangs and gently tugged Hiccup’s hand away from the stump. He nudged away the other hand, and carefully licked at the sensitive, reddened skin.

Hiccup gasped, and he paused, afraid it hurt. When he glanced up, his human looked surprised, but then gave a small nod, as if to say, “go on.” He trusted Toothless, and didn’t pull away when the dragon closed gummy jaws around his leg. Toothless could feel the tightness and stiffness in it; he purred, hoping it would be relaxing. It seemed to work; Hiccup sagged in relief, and breathlessly murmured, “Thanks, bud.”

*You’re welcome* said Toothless, still purring. He’d do anything for Hiccup; he’d give the boy his real, flesh and bone foot back, if he could. He knew that Hiccup would have given him his real tail-fin as well, if it were possible. Although, Toothless thought he might prefer the red one. *You’ll be okay, Hiccup. I’ve got you. I’m here.* He’d gotten into the habit of talking to Hiccup as if his rider understood him.

Sometimes, Hiccup would seem to guess what he was saying, and respond in kind. Like now, for instance. “Always...looking out for me...aren’t ya?” he said slowly, as his too fast breathing began to settle. He swallowed and wiped away the tears on his face. “It got cramped” he murmured, “and I couldn’t...but this helps.” Toothless kept purring, a deep and steady rumble that was felt more than heard.

When Hiccup’s head started to nod, Toothless realised the pain must have gone if he was falling asleep. He tugged gently on Hiccup’s leg until the boy shifted and lay down properly. Toothless fussed over him like a mother with her hatchling, pulling the soft furs over him and tucking them in all over. Hiccup fell asleep again easily. *Goodnight, little brother*, said Toothless, nuzzling him one more time.

* * *

Toothless’ Ghost 

If he had to be honest, today hadn’t been one of Toothless’ better ones. First the Spine-Twister who killed his mother had shown up, tunnelling through Berk like he owned the place and attacking him just because he recognised him as the offspring of the Swift-Wing he’d murdered. Then he’d stupidly tried to challenge his nemesis alone, and worse still, Hiccup had had to step off a cliff to snap him back to his senses.

Toothless had sloped off to his human’s room after gulping down his fish, leaving Hiccup and Stoick to eat their meal alone. Now he was pacing back and forth in the too small space, eyes narrowed, cursing. He was still angry at the cowardly Spine-Twister, but he was cross with himself as well. He cursed his pride for making him push his best friend away, for making it so Hiccup had to save him from himself.

It was times like this that Toothless wondered what he had become. What sort of dragon held back - showed mercy - even when vengeance was right under their claws, because a human said “No”? How were Hiccup’s words enough to make him think twice about avenging his mother - he’d forgotten her, and he curses the mad Fire-Giant as well - and instead let her murderer go free, unscathed?

Hookfang never tired of mocking him for his protectiveness of Hiccup, saying he wasn’t a dragon at all, just a human’s pet cat in a dragon’s skin. Toothless usually ignored the Fire-Scale, but now and then he wondered, *Can I really call myself a dragon?* He shook himself vigorously. Of course he was still a dragon! If that Spine-Twister ever dared to show himself here again, and threaten his home, he’d kill them. Especially if they dared to hurt, or worse, kill Hiccup. There’d be no-one to stop him taking vengeance on them then.

“Bud?” He heard that familiar voice say softly, and looked up to see Hiccup standing in the doorway. The boy’s eyes were worried. “Hey. You okay?” he asked, slowly walking closer, as if afraid Toothless might shoot a fireball again. He was sorry he’d ever done that in the first place, and met Hiccup halfway, nuzzling his human as those soft hands stroked his head and neck and shoulders.

“You’re still worked up, huh?” Hiccup guessed. He stepped back and took hold of the dragon’s head, looking him in the eyes. “I wish you could tell me what was going on today” he murmured. Toothless cooed sympathetically. He wished so too.  “I know you had a grudge against that dragon...but whatever the reason, you let it go. I’m really proud of you” he smiled, and Toothless felt his heart skip a beat.

This was why he’d given up his chance for vengeance; to make Hiccup happy. He’d shown mercy to this human once, and that had led to the closest friendship he’d ever known, the most love he’d ever gotten. He might have lost his mother, and for all he knew, any family he might once have had; but mercy had given him a new family. Hiccup had lost his mother as well; just another way the two of them were the same.

Toothless licked the human he saw as his little brother playfully. He could grieve later; the sun had not quite set and there was flying to do!

* * *

Hiccup’s Ghost 

It had taken a while to sink in. It was only when he had gotten ready for bed that Hiccup’s eye was caught by the little toy sitting on his headboard. He sighed and sat down, reaching out to pick it up and hold it. Lost in thought, he didn’t hear Toothless warble curiously, as the dragon watched him from the stone slab. It was strange, really, how one little bit of cloth and wool could mean so much.

He remembered the toy, but in truth it was only vaguely. He had, after all, been a baby. What bothered him was that it wasn’t just the toy he didn’t really remember...it was his mother, too. He’d been afraid he’d forget her, but he didn’t have many memories of her in the first place. She was just a presence, a caring voice humming lullabies to him, perhaps...warm arms cradling him.

Hiccup blinked, and to his surprise, a tear rolled down his face. He’d begun to cry without noticing, lost in thoughts of what might-have-been. The longer he stared down at the toy, the more it reminded him of his lost mother, and the more tears formed in his eyes. They fell silently down his face as he sat there...until his vision was filled with worried green orbs and a scaly nose snuffling at him.

Despite himself, he laughed weakly. “I’m okay” he said, forcing a smile and wiping his eyes. Toothless crooned and licked the tears from his cheeks. “Thanks...” Hiccup murmured. He reached up to pet his dragon, already feeling cheered up. Toothless sniffed at the toy in his hands, and whined softly, ear-flaps going back. Then he tilted his head to the side and whistled curiously, looking from the toy to Hiccup.

“Are you...asking if this is making me sad?” Hiccup guessed, holding up the toy. Toothless cooed at him, which he took as a ‘yes’. Even as he marvelled at the dragon’s intelligence, Hiccup replied, “It is, but it’s a good kind of sad. This toy...I haven’t seen it in years. Looking at it now, I just keep thinking about mom. About how...I never really knew her. She, um, she died when I was just a baby.”

Toothless crooned, and his eyes were big and sad...he looked sympathetic, and not for the first time, Hiccup wondered about his best friend’s family. Where had Toothless come from? Were there more Night Furies out there...were they waiting for him? “It’s a shame you can’t talk, hey bud? I bet you’d have lots of stories to tell” he remarked, setting the toy to one side. He really ought to get some sleep.

The next day at dinner, Hiccup hesitated, but his curiosity got the better of him as usual. “Hey, dad? I was thinking...what was mom like?”

Stoick sighed. “Your mother was an incredible woman. You’ve got her fire in you, and no mistake...”

* * *

_...it helps to have a friend to stand and face them with you.”_


	5. Two Sides

If there was one major benefit to being heart bound, understanding dragons would definitely be a top contender. The only real downside was that old habits died hard, and the dragons tended to talk over their riders.

This meant that Hiccup was trying to get used to sometimes hearing two conversations at once; or rather, hearing human conversations, and ‘seeing’ the dragon’s thought-speak in his mind’s eye. It was like having someone else’s thoughts imposed in his own head, and was a decidedly bizarre experience.

He and his friends were gathered in the training ring, but for some reason, Ruff and Tuff had come in arguing fervently over…Odin knew what. Yet only Hiccup knew that Barf&Belch were bickering as well, trading insults back and forth.

“Ugly son of a troll!”

*Rotten egg for brains!*

“Hideous she-hag!”

*Putrid breath!*

“Mutton-headed snivelling wretch!"

*Snaggle-toothed snake!*

“Foul haired devil spawn!”

*Hatchling of a worm!*

“SHUT UP!!” Astrid yelled at the top of her lungs. The twins and their dragon all stopped and stared at her. She breathed hard for a few moments and then demanded, “What in the name of all the gods are you two idiots arguing over _this_ time?”

Ruff and Tuff looked at her as if they genuinely had no idea what she was talking about. Then again, that was sort of typical for them. “We’re not arguing” Ruffnut answered, as if it were obvious.

“Yeah, we were just having an insult competition” Tuffnut shrugged. He looked over at Snotlout and asked, “So who won? It was me, right? I totally had better insults than her” he said dismissively, sneering at his sister, who scowled at him.

Thinking quickly, she turned to their reluctant judge and said “Hey, Snotlout, if you make me the winner, I’ll…let you hold my hand later.” He’d been trying to court her lately…probably because with Astrid taken and Heather being on Berserker Island, he wasn’t exactly spoiled for choice. Ruffnut wasn’t exactly keen…she had her heart set on some muscled hunk, and it felt weird since she’d known Snotlout for years and he’d never shown the slightest bit of interest in her before now. Still, maybe she could use it to her advantage.

Sure enough, Snotlout immediately declared “Ruffnut wins!” Thus prompting Tuffnut to complain about fairness and impartiality and “I told you we should have had Hiccup judge it!”

Everyone rolled their eyes. Toothless looked up at the Twin-Head and remarked, *I can’t believe you were insulting each other just because your riders were.*

Barf&Belch looked at each other, and then down at Toothless. *If Hiccup jumped off a cliff* Barf began.

*Wouldn’t you jump off too?* finished Belch.

*I’d have to, to rescue him!*

*Don’t tell us not to* -

*-Copy our riders then.*

“Can you two focus?” Astrid demanded of the twins. “Hiccup called us out here for a reason.”

“Uh, two questions” Snotlout drawled, “One, why are we still training? It’s been five years, I’m pretty sure we’ve got the dragon riding thing down pat. Two, what’s the point of you even being here?” he asked Hiccup, “You’re grounded. What’s the point of dragon training when you can’t fly your dragon?”

“Well to answer your questions, Snotlout, we’re not training, and I’m not flying. See, my dad wants to know exactly how many dragons are on Berk, so I…volunteered us to take a census” Hiccup told them. Everyone except Fishlegs groaned. “Oh, don’t be like that. Look, to make it easier, you just have to count the kind of dragon you ride. So, Snotlout, you count the Nightmares, Astrid is on Nadders, Fishlegs counts the Gronckles and the twins count the Zipplebacks. Then we just have to add all the tallies up. Simple.”

His friends did not look impressed. “Your census will be easy” Ruffnut scoffed, “seeing as the Night Fury tally is a grand total of _one_.”

“What about those two Furies who followed him back from Myrkr?”

“That’s much better, Fishface, now the tally is up to three."

“Guys, please! I’ve already counted all your dragons, Skull Crusher, Grump and Toothless; Selena and Shadow don’t count, cos they don’t really live here, they’re just visiting” explained Hiccup.

“So which dragon breed _are_ you going to count, oh glorious leader?"

“I’ll count the Terrors.”

Snotlout smirked. “Wow. Sucks to be you – I wouldn’t wanna try and do a tally of Terrible Terrors on foot. Especially since, you know…” He pointed at Hiccup’s prosthetic and mimed limping. Hiccup rolled his eyes, used to the insensitivity.

“Y’know, it’s funny you should mention that. I was thinking, we haven’t done one of Astrid’s ‘independent survival’ sessions for a while…” he said thoughtfully. The others – except Astrid this time – looked horrified. “This would be a good chance to practise dealing with wilder dragons when our own aren’t around to defend us. Like you said, Snotlout, we’re all capable – with or without our dragons.”

Snotlout, Fishlegs and the twins all groaned. “ _Two of us_ are capable without our dragons” Snotlout corrected, “and who is gonna make sure they don’t follow us? We all know Toothless isn’t gonna stay put. Hang on…I bet _you_ want to keep an eye on them, mister ‘grounded for a month.’ You’re just trying to get out of doing the census!” he accused Hiccup.

“I’m not!” Hiccup protested quickly. “But like you said, it isn’t really fair if I’m walking and you guys get to ride.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

Fishlegs grimaced. “Doing a dragon census on foot is gonna take forever” he complained. “Can’t they just come to keep us company? We promise not to ride them” he added hopefully.

Astrid watched Hiccup squirm, but before he could cave and agree to let the dragons come along, she stepped in. “We know you wouldn’t ride Meatlug, but the same can’t be said for some of us” she said, looking pointedly at the twins. “As for how we get them to stay, we can just put them in their pens for a while. Toothless can share with Stormfly” she suggested.

“Or, y’know, we could just tell them to stay here” Hiccup said hastily. “They’re all well trained, after all.”

“Hookfang isn’t.”

“Shut up, Tuffnut!”

Fishlegs looked puzzled. “I don’t remember teaching our dragons a ‘stay’ command” he remarked, scratching his head.

“Well, we can teach them now. Here, I’ll go first. Toothless?” He waited until he had the dragon’s attention, and said firmly, “Wait”, along with a hand signal just to make it look authentic. Then he turned and walked away.

“He’s following you.”

Hiccup looked back to see that Toothless was indeed padding after him. “No, Toothless, _wait_ ” he insisted. Then he tried again, but…

“Still following.”

He gave Toothless an annoyed look. _Come on, bud, play along._ Toothless purred _amusement_ at him. *Say the magic word* he advised.

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Hiccup tried one more time. “Toothless, wait, please.” This time, the dragon obediently sat down and didn’t follow Hiccup even when he walked right out of the arena.

*Good human* he teased when Hiccup came back, *Learning to say ‘please’.*

The other dragons played the same trick, refusing to obey the command until their riders said ‘please’. Fishlegs and Astrid caught on first, then the twins. Snotlout was the most stubborn, but when Hookfang flattened him with his tail, he gave in and said the magic word.  “I’ll see you soon, bud” Hiccup told Toothless, as he and the others left the arena.

* * *

Not long after they’d gone, Stormfly called out *You can come out!*

Selena and Shadow appeared at the edge of the arena and jumped down into it. *So this is where your riders train you?* Selena asked, sniffing around curiously.

*Or to put it another way, it’s where we train our riders* Hookfang replied.

Shadow yawned. *Where is Hiccup? I thought he’d be here* he remarked.

*He’ll be back* Toothless said confidently. Sure enough, it wasn’t long before Hiccup slipped back into the arena, looking over his shoulder even as he walked down the slope into the pit. *Did anyone follow you?* asked Toothless.

“I don’t think so. I feel kind of bad about ditching them like this” he admitted, squirming uncomfortably. He had already counted the Biters – it was just a matter of going to each cluster (1) and counting all the individuals, then adding them all up. He wanted to hang out with the dragons, but he wouldn’t be able to during the day unless he went behind his friend’s backs.

That didn’t mean he wanted to, but Toothless stubbornly refused to let him out in the middle of the night again after he’d gotten sick. The dragon had become even more over-protective now that they were heart bound.

*So what do we do now?* asked Hookfang.

Hiccup shrugged. “I figured we could just chat, eat…play ‘chase the light spot’…” He tilted a shield to reflect the sunlight off the iron boss in the centre. He tilted it back and forth, making the blob of reflected light wiggle invitingly.

Shadow gave a dismissive snort. *Chasing things that can’t be caught is a hatchling’s game. We’re all full grown, we’re not going to do something as silly as try to pounce on something that isn’t there* he insisted.

Hiccup jerked the shield, making the light spot dart away – and Toothless lunged after it. “So much for full-grown” Hiccup teased, sniggering.

*Really, Toothless?*

*And you wonder why I call you a cat?*

Toothless’ eyes narrowed. *So what if I like chasing the spot? Besides, you said snow surfing was a game for hatchlings and you had fun with that…don’t judge me* he grumbled. Then he licked Hiccup repeatedly, to get revenge for the teasing. Hiccup spluttered and tried to fend him off with the shield and finally gave in, exclaiming “Okay, okay! I’m sorry!”

Selena was still exploring the arena, prowling around the perimeter. *What are all these big cages for?* she asked, sniffing at the metal bars covering one of the pens. Shadow tensed, whole body screaming _wary.  
_

*I thought you said the humans here didn’t trap dragons* he growled uneasily.

“We don’t! We just…used to” Hiccup admitted, squirming uncomfortably again.

Toothless reminded his brother, *We did tell you that Hiccup’s people used to be at war with the dragons here. This used to be where the young Vikings would train to fight the dragons that were raiding back then* he explained.

*That’s not right!* Barf protested.

*It’s where we trained humans to fight us!* Belch continued.

Selena cocked her head to the side. *Isn’t that what Toothless said?*

*Yes!*

*No!*

The Twin-Head began bickering with himself (themselves?); Stormfly rolled her eyes and shook herself, rattling her spikes. *You’re both right. The humans trained their fledglings to fight us, and we were doing the same. Apart from Toothless, all of us were trapped here, before Hiccup and his friends rode us into battle against _Her_.* She and the other Berk dragons flinched reflexively.

Hiccup flinched a bit as well, but for a very different reason. He didn’t like to think about how his friends dragons – his _friends_ – had once been prisoners here. How they had been condemned to death. Back then, the village had been struggling enough without having imprisoned dragons to feed, and back then the dragons had been all but starved. One by one, they’d all have been slain – either by the ‘students’, or by the chief himself.  

“I’m sorry” he heard himself saying. He looked around at his dragon friends and apologised, “I’m really sorry. What we did to you was wrong, and someone should apologise for that. Especially to you, Hookfang. I never wanted to kill you” he promised, reaching up to the Fire-Scale.

Hookfang rumbled indulgently, and pressed his snout against Hiccup’s palm. *I didn’t really want to kill you either. Well, maybe a little bit, but not since.*

“Thanks for summing that up” Hiccup snarked. His curiosity got the better of him, and he inquired “What do you guys mean, you were training us? I mean, we were…really mean to you.” _That’s an understatement._ “I’m kinda surprised you didn’t just burn us all to crisps – uh, but I’m glad you didn’t, obviously.”

Meatlug crooned _worry-concern,_ asking *Did you really think we would hurt fledglings? Maybe if we were mindless, but we weren’t. Didn’t you notice how we were careful to never really hurt you?*

Hiccup thought about it, and realised she was right. The dragons could have killed him and his friends easily, but they had held back, always firing at the shields, roaring at the trainees to intimidate them instead of using brute force. Hookfang laughed, a rasping in his throat. *It’s about time you caught on! Meatlug told us what you did the first time she faced you. Meatlug, spew!*

The Rock-Tail just stared at him, growling, until Hookfang added * _Please_.* Then she obligingly spat a globule of magma onto the ground a few feet away.

*See how quickly she did that?* Hookfang asked Hiccup, before saying *Okay ‘Lug, now do what you did back in the ring that day.*

Meatlug rolled her eyes, and began to gather another blast. Her maw glowed, and glowed…finally the penny dropped. “Hey, no fair! I was cornered, and scared!” Hiccup protested, realising what they were getting at. “People freeze up when they’re scared, it’s a perfectly natural reaction!”

*I suppose* Hookfang mused, *That must be why rabbits in the forest go so still when I corner them, right before I eat them. It’s very amusing. Rather stupid, though, if you ask me.*

Meatlug rumbled an apology, trotting over to nuzzle Hiccup. *I’m sorry about that. I thought you were just going to duck or something. I didn’t realise you really couldn’t move* she explained. He petted her and assured her, “No hard feelings. Huh…now that I think about it, of course you guys weren’t under the Red Death’s control; but why? Was it just because you were knocked out, like Toothless was?"

Stormfly explained, *Queens and Alphas can command their subjects, but only over a range, and it only goes so far. When _She_ commanded us to raid, she somehow spread her range out even further. Then she pulled us back when she couldn’t do that anymore. Any dragons who were downed on the islands we raided were left behind and freed from her mind-snare; not that it did them much good, of course.*

*The more we fed the Fire-Giant, the stronger her Will became* declared Belch.

*The stronger her Will became, the further she could reach it* continued Barf.

*The further she could reach it, the more she could make us feed her.*

*The more we fed her, the stronger her Will became.*

*The stronger her Will became* -

“Yes, yes, you said that bit already” Hiccup said hastily. Then he admitted, “I still don’t get it. If you guys were in your right minds, and you didn’t want to hurt us…why didn’t you just, y’know, not fight?” he wondered.

Of all the reactions he could have gotten, laughter wasn’t one of them. *You say that like we had a choice!* Stormfly exclaimed, chattering with mirth, *You poor, sweet little human. You all had axes and spears and other sharp, stabby things. What were we supposed to do; stand there and let you attack us? Hide in our pens and refuse to come out?*

“Uh…”

*Those lessons were the only time we could get out of our cages* she continued, *So we played along. We didn’t think we had much choice.*

It made sense, and it made Hiccup shrivel inside. Back then they’d all thought dragons were nothing but mindless beasts; the Vikings wouldn’t have noticed if the dragons had tried to prove they were just as aware as humans. Stormfly scented his shame and snuffled his hair. *I’m sorry, Hiccup. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad* she chirped.

He scratched under her chin and replied, “Don’t worry about it. I still don’t…if you couldn’t show us you weren’t monsters, then what _were_ you training us to do? You said to fight you, but why? And how?”

*Did we say fight?*

*We meant kill.*

*What?!* Shadow all but shrieked. *Is every dragon on this island _crazy?_ Why would you want to be killed?*

*We didn’t want to be, but it was-*

*-The only way we could defeat _Her._ Isn’t it obvious?*

Selena admitted, *Not really. You’re talking about your old Queen, right? How would you getting killed help defeat her?* she asked, puzzled.

*It wouldn’t* Hookfang said bluntly, *but we were all doomed anyway, so deciding that our deaths would somehow be useful made us feel better.*

Stormfly swatted at him with her wing. *Really, ‘Fang?* she croaked indignantly, before turning to Hiccup, Selena and Shadow. *See, after we’d gotten to grips with, you know, realising our whole lives up to that moment was a lie…and being captured…Nipper told us we had to stop _Her_.*

“Who’s Nipper?” Hiccup couldn’t help but ask.

*I am!* a higher pitched voice squeaked imperiously. It was coming from the top of Barf’s head – he rolled his eyes up to try and peer at the Biter perched there. *I am Nipper* the tiny dragon declared once more, puffing his chest out with self-importance. Then Belch knocked him off his perch, and he flew around their heads, shrieking. The Twin-Head snapped at him.

“Guys, don’t!” Hiccup exclaimed, raising his hands. Nipper dived down and landed on one. “C’mon, he’s smaller than you. Don’t be mean” he scolded B&B. Now that he had a better look at Nipper, he realised “Hey, you look like my friend Sharpshot.”

*We’re twins* Nipper chirped by way of explanation.

“Nice to meet you. Oh, wait, I know you! You’re the Terror my friends and I had to fight when…err…sorry about that” Hiccup said sheepishly, “Please don’t bite my nose.”

*From what he told us, you never really fought him* remarked Meatlug, gurgling _amusement._ *You just distracted him and sent him back into his cage.*

“Yeah…sorry. But uh, Nipper, these guys were saying you told them they had to help defeat the Queen. What’s all that about?” Hiccup asked curiously.

Nipper explained, *Us Biters free. Never caught by _Her._ Too small. Too small to get food. Too small to be threats! Tried and tried and tried to get big dragons to stop, but never could. Too small!* He roared a bit and flapped his wings.

“Oh…the Red Death never controlled you guys” Hiccup realised. “That explains why Toothless and I saw a cluster after our first successful flight – I think it was your cluster, actually, I’m sure the Terror – um, Biter – we saw was Sharpshot. Um, sorry, I’m rambling. Go on” he prompted.

Nipper licked his eyeball, but before he could continue, Hookfang groaned *Just let us tell you. If you let him tell you, it will take all day.*

The miniature dragon growled at the Fire-Scale…but the growls soon became purrs, as Hiccup scratched him under the chin. He cradled the Biter against his chest with one arm; Nipper wriggled onto his back so Hiccup could scratch his stomach. The young man met Hookfang’s bulbous yellow eyes and challenged, “Well, go on then.”

Hookfang snorted at him. *Nipper was here before any of us* he explained. *He told us you Vikings had put us here to teach their fledglings how to fight and kill our kinds. The only way to stop _Her_ was to make her starve, he said, and the only way to make her starve was if the dragons she forced to raid were all dead. We had to help you fledglings learn how to fight us, so you would grow up and kill dragons and starve the Queen.*

Everyone stared at him. Finally, Shadow announced *That is the most insane thing I have ever heard.*

B&B retorted *Like you could* -

*Do better!*

He rounded on them and snarled *Of course I can! How long were you trying to starve this Queen of yours? It clearly wasn’t working. Do you know what would have worked? Killing the humans. If you had killed them, then your pack would have had no one to raid, no food to give your Queen. It would have worked a lot more quickly* Shadow declared firmly.

Then he looked around, and realised a lot of them were glaring at him. Feeling cornered, he hissed and drew his shoulders up defensively. *What? I’m just saying…* Shadow trailed off when he remembered Hiccup was _right there,_ and he had just suggested these dragons the human called friends should have killed him and his pack. Suddenly, the Swift-Wing felt like a worm. *Sorry, Hiccup* he grunted, ear-flaps lowering contritely. *I shouldn’t have said that.*

*No, you shouldn’t have* Toothless glared at him. *It wouldn’t have worked anyway. Think about it – she could have still made us catch fish, and the sheep we used to steal would have just kept breeding without the humans there. If all the humans had left, it wouldn’t have changed anything. I much prefer the way we actually defeated her* he crooned, nuzzling Hiccup.

His other half smiled and nuzzled him back. “It’s okay, Shadow” he told the Fury who was now fidgeting and refusing to meet anyone’s eyes. “I can see why you’d…well, the important thing is that all that’s over now. It’s funny, back then we didn’t expect my dad to actually let us use this place. I bet Mildew was livid.”

*Who or what is Mildew?* asked Selena.

The dragons from Berk all made various noises of disgust or disdain. “Mildew was this horrible old guy who used to live here on Berk. He _hated_ the dragons and he tried everything he could to get rid of them.”

*He made Hiccup’s sire tell him and his friends to lock us all up* Meatlug crooned sadly.

*He made them abandon us all on Dragon Island* Stormfly revealed, ruffling her spikes indignantly.

*He planted the blue-death flower all over this nest, so we all got sick!* Hookfang snarled, flaming up. *If Hiccup hadn’t gotten the Steam-Spitter venom to cure us, we would have died!*

Toothless gave a low growl. *He made the other humans think I was angering their gods, so they tried to banish me.* Hiccup stroked him reassuringly – to reassure them both. The memory of his best friend being chained up – _again –_ and dragged away from him was one he’d not soon forget. He remembered how Toothless had given the entire village the cold shoulder (2), even when they brought tons of apology fish, until he’d convinced his dad to have that awful trap/harness destroyed.

*He sounds awful!* Selena crooned sympathetically.

*He sure does. I don’t get it; if this old human was so horrible, why did any of your pack listen to him?* Shadow asked Hiccup.

Before he could answer, Hookfang squawked *Because they’re insane! My sire always said humans are crazy. They get so much wrong. They don’t just bare their teeth to show they’re happy instead of angry, they treat the offspring of their Alpha like the omega and listen more to the human who should be lowest on the pecking order. It’s all the wrong way round! Why don’t we all be the wrong thing? Look at me, everyone! I’m a bird!* He cawed like a crow, and Hiccup burst out giggling.

When he’d caught his breath, Hiccup admitted, “I guess it doesn’t really make sense, does it? It’s just…I mean, nobody actually _liked_ Mildew. He just had a way of riling the villagers up. They shouldn’t have scapegoated you guys, but my dad…he has to do what he feels is best for the village. He’s the chief – the alpha – first, and my dad second. It’s always been like that.

“As for me…they did care, in their own way. I kept screwing things up. Not on purpose, obviously, but you can’t really blame them for thinking I was…useless” he sighed, idly scratching the little Biter in his arms. Nipper had fallen asleep and was snoring.

Toothless nuzzled and licked him. * _We_ don’t think you’re useless.*

*You made this place a lot more bearable when we were fighting here* Stormfly told him kindly.

Meatlug purred *You were the first human to ever be kind to us. And you gave us dragon nip…* She rumbled _contentment_ at the mere thought.

*And we’re over-*

*-the eel thing.*

Hiccup beamed at them all. “Thanks, guys. Oh, I wish the others could hear you. All this time…think of what we could do, if we could talk to you all the time!”

*I think we’ve done a pretty good job so far* remarked Toothless. *So, do you think you’ll tell them?* he asked.

Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and shrugged. “I dunno…I’ll tell my dad, and Astrid, and maybe Gobber…I don’t know about the others. I just…don’t think I can tell them about the heart bind yet. I don’t know how” he confessed. As if conversations with his father weren’t awkward enough. _Hey dad, funny story, whilst we were in Myrkr this guy stabbed me and Toothless bound our life forces together so I’ll live as long as he does and Night Furies live for about three hundred years so yeah…_

*There’s no rush. You can tell them when you’re ready* Toothless assured him.

Ever curious, Selena asked *Does Steam-Spitter venom _really_ cure the blue-death flower sickness? We should tell Ekeren that when we go home. What do humans call Steam-Spitters, Hiccup?*

“We call them Scauldrons. And yeah, their venom can be used as an antidote, but for it to work you have to make anti-venom, and that would be kind of tricky for you guys (3). We, uh, usually use a sheep, but…” He trailed off awkwardly.

*But what?* Selena prompted. They were all looking at him curiously.

Hiccup grimaced. “Yeah, you guys really aren’t gonna like this…Gobber kinda got the anti-venom…out of Mildew’s butt” he winced.

The dragons stared at him. There was a pregnant pause. Then Hookfang demanded *Are you telling us we drank a cure that came out of that awful human’s backside?*

Hiccup cringed. “Um…yes?”

That did it – all the dragons except for Selena and Shadow started gagging and dry heaving. Even the two Night Furies looked disgusted. Hiccup, on the other hand, was struggling not to laugh at the sight. “If it makes you guys feel any better, it wasn’t exactly a fun experience for him either.”

Toothless flopped his tongue as if trying to dry it out. *Hiccup, next time we get sick, please don’t tell us where you’ve gotten the cure from* he begged.

 “Sorry.”

* * *

Once the disgust had worn off a little, and they’d cleaned up the mess (or rather, slurped what they’d hacked up back into their mouths, which grossed Hiccup out), Stormfly remarked *If you ask me, we should also blame Trader Johann. Isn’t he the one who _gave_ Mildew the blue-death flower?”

 _She’s right,_ Hiccup realised. Selena inquired, *Who’s Trader Johann? That’s a funny name, Trader.*

*It’s not a name, it’s a job* Toothless explained. *Johann is the trader who told us about there maybe being Night Furies in Myrkr. If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t have found you all.*

*But like Storm says, if it weren’t for him, the blue-death flower wouldn’t have been growing here* Hookfang retorted.

*And isn’t he the one who bought that nest full of fledgling Smoke-Skins (4) to our island?* Meatlug wondered, *Just before those other humans attacked?*

“Yeah…he did” said Hiccup, brow furrowed. Now that he thought about it, Johann had caused them a lot of trouble over the years. Not warning them about the Smokebreaths at Breakneck Bog or the eels in the ship graveyard. Sending them away from Dragon’s Edge just in time for the dragon hunters and then flyers to invade. Making them lose the Dragon Eye lense belonging to Heather. Convincing him to go to the Northern Markets, where he’d encountered Krogan. Always turning up at just the right – or wrong – time.

Toothless crooned _worry,_ seeing Hiccup’s face darken. *What’s wrong?*

“I hate to say it…” Hiccup took a deep breath and declared, “but I think Johann is a traitor. Every time he turned up, things went wrong; and at the time I thought it was just bad luck or bad timing or Johann being Johann, but now…now I think he’s been playing us for fools this whole time. How did I not see this earlier?” he exclaimed in frustration, throwing his arms up.

The sudden jolt woke up Nipper, who shrieked loudly in indignant surprise. Hiccup flinched at the loud noise right next to his ear and winced, “Sorry, little guy.” Nipper lived up to his name, giving Hiccup a peck on the ear – but light enough to leave no mark – before flying off to get up to mischief elsewhere. Hiccup was still having a bit of trouble believing that Nipper had somehow convinced the others to ‘sacrifice themselves for the greater good’ as it were.

*I knew it!* Hookfang crowed, puffing his chest out. *My rider and I knew there was something off about that human this whole time. We never liked him.*

Stormfly rolled her eyes. *If your rider knew, why didn’t he say anything?*

“He did” said Hiccup, “Snotlout _did_ keep saying Johann was no good. We just…I guess we all thought he was just complaining, we didn’t think – I mean, Johann was annoying sometimes but he wasn’t – my dad always trusted him. Oh, dad is gonna be _livid_ when I tell him” he grimaced. His father’s rage wasn’t something he liked to see, even when it wasn’t directed at him. “I really hope I’m wrong about this…but I have a horrible feeling I’m not.”

*What will happen to him if you are right?* Meatlug asked him.

Hiccup paused. “I…I’m not sure. Normally if someone is a traitor my dad would just exile them, but Johann doesn’t live here.” Well, he did have an idea of what would happen should Johann be discovered to be a traitor…but he’d rather not think about that. He didn’t like to think of his dad going to such lengths.

“Sorry, guys. I guess I kinda brought down the mood, huh?” he said apologetically. The dragons assured him it was fine. Bored of talking, they played tug of war with ropes and fetch with sticks, and wrestled each other, and then Nipper came back with his brother Sharpshot and their cluster, which lived up to its name as they all swarmed around Hiccup and clamoured to be petted.

Hiccup was thoroughly enjoying himself, and he’d all but forgotten about the others until Toothless pricked his ear-flaps up, and then nudged at his rider urgently. *Hiccup, you’ve got to hide!* Stormfly hissed urgently, nostrils flaring. *Your friends are coming back!*

He stood on her back, but he still couldn’t reach the edge of the pit. Selena leapt up and grabbed Hiccup’s stretching arm in her mouth, fangs retracted of course, and hauled him up. “Thanks, Selena” he said gratefully. She and Shadow fled; Hiccup ran to hide behind some rocks, just in time. Snotlout went past; he knew it was Snotlout, because he could hear the man muttering to himself about “…stupid census…stupid wild Monstrous Nightmares…ow…stupid Hiccup…”

When he thought the coast was clear, Hiccup left his hiding place and ran the long way around to the entrance of the training ring. When he got there, the others were all waiting beside their dragons. Snotlout looked a bit charred, as did the twins, Fishlegs looked out of breath…only Astrid seemed unfazed. Panting, Hiccup leaned against the wall and admitted, “Okay, maybe leaving the dragons behind wasn’t such a great idea…”

“Ya think?” Snotlout grumbled. “C’mon, Hooky, let’s ditch these guys” he said, climbing into the saddle. Hookfang was in a generous mood, so he obligingly leapt into the air and circled the arena, as Snotlout yelled “Snotfang! Snotfang! Oi, oi, oi!”

The twins quickly followed suit, off to get up to mischief. Fishlegs and Astrid hesitated, but Hiccup told them to go on and fly. Still, as he watched them go, he couldn’t help but feel a bit sad. That was until Toothless licked him and playfully tossed Hiccup onto his back, running with him back to the village.

* * *

Not long after his father learned of the heart bind, Hiccup told Stoick what he suspected about Trader Johann. Predictably, his dad was furious at the thought of betrayal, and gave an angry rant interspersed with plenty of choke-miming and invisible hammer or axe smashing. When he calmed down, though, he agreed they ought to question Johann when the trader next returned to Berk.

So the following summer, when Johann’s vessel docked on Berk, the man found himself not being greeted by an eager crowd, but escorted to the Great Hall by Gobber. When they got there, Stoick, Hiccup and the other riders were waiting for them. Johann looked bewildered, and a little nervous.

“Ah…is something wrong? I’m used to a, ah, warmer reception…oh, master Hiccup! It’s so good to see you alive and well” he smiled broadly. He sounded genuinely relieved, and Hiccup felt doubt niggling at him.

“Trader Johann” Stoick boomed, “do you swear to answer all our questions honestly and to the point?” he questioned, putting just the slightest stress on the last three words. Johann visibly gulped, and nodded.

“On my honour, Stoick, I’ll do my best.”

“Very well. We have reason to believe that you have been working against the best interests of Berk, based on several instances of…how was it you put it, Snotlout?”

“Making things a million times worse.”

“Aye. What do you have to say in your defence, Johann?”

All eyes turned to the middle-aged trader, who spluttered in absolute bewilderment. “I…I don’t know…when did I…?”

“Shall I read out the list?” offered Gobber. Before anyone could stop him, he’d unrolled a scroll and began reading the contents aloud. “Let’s see here – selling Mildew blue oleander which then poisoned the dragons, sending Hiccup and his friends on a dangerous mission to Breakneck Bog without warning them about the Smothering Smokebreaths,” –

“Just wait a” –

“Making Hiccup rescue you when Speed Stingers attacked Berk” –

“Now see here!” 

“Not telling the riders about the giant eels in the ship graveyard, not warning Heather that Dagur wouldn’t be alone, luring several riders including Hiccup away from Dragon’s Edge with a distress call” –

“Just let me” –

“Sending Hiccup and Astrid away from the Edge before it was attacked by Dragon Flyers” –

“I had to!” Johann burst out at the top of his lungs; then he clamped his hands over his mouth, eyes wide. Everyone stared at him.

At last, someone spoke. “What do you mean, you _had_ to?” Astrid demanded, rather suspiciously. Snotlout was outright glaring at Johann, who cringed and wrung his hands nervously, looking distraught. The doubts crept back into Hiccup’s mind. Johann could go over the top at times – well, most times-  but was he really that good an actor?

“Oh dear, oh dear. Oh, I knew it wouldn’t last, I knew it, oh Johann, you old fool...” he muttered to himself.

Snotlout cried impatiently, “Just answer the question! What do you mean, you _had_ to lure Hiccup and Astrid away when we needed them?”

His demanding, impetuous tone seemed to annoy Johann enough for the man to pull himself together. “I mean exactly what I said, master Snotlout. I _had_ to do it, all of it. If I hadn’t, you’d have all died” he explained. Nobody said anything, but it was clear from their expressions that they weren’t buying it, and expected him to have a damn good explanation.

Johann looked down in shame. “I should have told you sooner” he confessed, “I know that. Blame it on an old man’s cowardice. The truth is, when Berk made peace with dragons, and the raids stopped, the archipelago came under the attention of undesirable sorts, including your old enemy, Krogan. They intercepted me on the way to Berk the next year, just before the Straits of Baldur, and forced me to join them as an – an unwilling accomplice. They said if I didn’t co-operate, they wouldn’t just kill me, they’d kill all of you.”

Tuffnut looked at the others and asked blithely, “Err, he does know we have _dragons,_ right?”

Johann frowned. “Yes, I know that, master Tuffnut; but these weren’t the loud, bulky crossbow wielding thugs that the likes of the Grimborns hired. They were _assassins._ They would have waited until you were alone, and then it would have only taken two arrows – one to take out your dragons, and one to take out each of you. None of you would’ve seen it coming” he declared.

“Pfft. If these creeps wanted us gone so bad, why didn’t they just face us like men?” Snotlout questioned, before flexing his muscles in a way that he probably thought looked macho. “I’d have said bring it!”

“What part of ‘they were assassins’ did you not understand?” Johann asked impatiently. “They didn’t come after you themselves because of _me_. Because so long as I made it seem as though I was working with them, I could blame my failures to eliminate you on my own shortcomings or your skills. I _dreaded_ the day they decided to try and take you out themselves” he admitted.

Hiccup spoke up for the first time, “but when Krogan attacked us, he practically did it right out in the open. Why not just assassinate us back then? Heck, he had me captured and unconscious that one time – why wouldn’t he just kill me when he had the chance?”

Johann mopped his brow and said helplessly, “Honestly, I have no idea why they attacked you outright. I was just relieved you would have a chance to fight back, and I didn’t dare ask too many questions. As for Krogan, all I know is with a man like that, the only reason he’d spare you is because he had an even worse fate for you in mind, master Hiccup.”

The trader sighed and remarked, “Look, since you went to all the trouble of making a list…yes, I sold Mildew the oleander, but I swear, I didn’t know it was poisonous! Same with Breakneck Bog, I didn’t know there were Smokebreaths living there! I’m a sailor, I don’t go near the place. I was being honest when I said I’d sailed too close by accident. Why would I go to a place like that deliberately? It has _break neck_ in the name.

“And just to be clear, the Speed Stinger attack wasn’t my fault, I couldn’t help the weather, could I? And I should have mentioned the eels, but I’ve gotten used to them, I suppose – it just slipped my mind! And as for Dagur – no, I didn’t say he’d have an armada with him – but I never said he’d be alone, either! I just assumed – I mean, the man always had an armada with him back then! I thought it went without saying!”

Stoick’s brow furrowed. “You have an answer for everything, don’t you?” he questioned, a bit sarcastically. Johann cringed, as if expecting to be struck. It was then that Hiccup felt he had to step in.

“Dad? I think he’s telling the truth.”

“Oh really? And what makes you so sure?” Stoick rounded on him.

Hiccup held his ground and said calmly, “Well for one thing, he’s not rambling.”

“Hmm…good point.”

“I still don’t get it” said Fishlegs, “If this was going on so long, why didn’t you tell us? We would have helped!”

Johann mopped his brow again and explained, “I wanted to, master Fishlegs, but I didn’t dare. If I betrayed them to you, they’d stop messing about and…it’s not that I thought you wouldn’t have done all you could to help; but how could I take the risk that you’d fail for even a moment? I’d have been killed, any one of you could have been killed…after Krogan and so many of his men died, I thought I was free. I just wanted the whole sorry ordeal to be over.”

Needless to say, Stoick wasn’t happy at having such a dire threat kept secret from him, and gave Johann a very stern warning to be a _lot_ more forthcoming about such matters in the future. Johann promised to tell the truth from then on, and apologised profusely. The other riders forgave him, even Snotlout, albeit a bit grudgingly.

Hesitantly, he asked “Well, ahem, if that will be all? I’m sure everyone’s wondering where I am…”

“Aye, probably” Gobber agreed, hobbling forwards, “C’mon, I’ll walk back down t’ the docks wi’ ya.”

Stoick followed them, as if he didn’t want to let Johann out of his sight. When the three men had gone, Fishlegs breathed a huge sigh of relief. “I’m so glad we sorted that out. Hey, uh, Hiccup? What gave you the idea that Johann could have been a traitor in the first place?” he inquired.

 _Uh oh._ “Oh, uh, y’know me…” Hiccup shrugged, “Just doing too much thinking.” When the others were distracted, he looked over his shoulder at Toothless and the other dragons nearby, and gave them a wink.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) Clusters being a term for the packs of Biters within a pack, comprised of several families over two or three generations. The male Biters move on to join or found new clusters.
> 
> (2) I made a slight tweak to the canon ending of ‘When Lightning Strikes’ where Toothless is warier of and less quick to forgive the villagers.
> 
> (3) Let’s just ignore the fact that anti-venom wasn’t a thing until the 1800s, shall we? The writers certainly did. Curse you, anachronisms!
> 
> (4) Smoke-Skins = Smothering Smokebreaths. Apparently they actually secrete that smoke from their skin as well as breathing it, so…yeah…


	6. HBS Headcanons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey so I have a load of head-canons about my take on the HTTYD world and I don’t know how/if I’m gonna work them into my stories so what the heck let’s just dump them all here, okay? Cool.
> 
> Also, dragon names! I’ve got a table (of sorts) on my tumblr with my alternative names for a load (not all, there’s too many) of dragon species: https://allthings10blue10.tumblr.com/post/176921885537/dragon-namesclassification
> 
> Would’ve put it here, but FFN doesn’t do tables. HUGE thank you to ‘Dragonrider’s Fury’ for helping to come up with the alternative names for the Flightmare, Armorwing, Snow Wraith and Shellfire ;)

HBS ‘Verse Head-Canons

**Characters**

  1. If dragon nip or dragon root affects Toothless, and Hiccup is in the vicinity, it affects him as well (but still doesn’t affect him by himself). Dragon nip makes him essentially act high, unfocused and euphoric, giggling at nothing in particular. Dragon root makes him abnormally aggressive and possessive, not of the root, but of Toothless. However, if they know of the root’s presence in advance, Hiccup can use his immunity and their telepathic bond to shield Toothless from the plant’s adverse effects.



Hiccup on dragon nip:

“Heh, heh…Astrid…there’s a huge scaly kitty here, come pet it.”

“Heeeeeeey, Toooothleeeesss….your head is so…. _flat_.”

“Whoa...my leg, s’gone…s’all shiny…”

(You may be wondering if I think dragon nip is making the dragons stoned as well. The answer is yes. Yes I do. Why? Because it amuses me.)

Hiccup on dragon root:

“Stay back! He’s mine, you hear me?! Mine! Stay away!”

“You want to get to him, you’re gonna have to go through me.”

“My _precious…_ ” ‘hisses’. (Okay maybe not this last one).

  1. Even if Toothless were to be completely taken over by dragon root, he would retain enough instinctual awareness of his other half to never directly attempt to attack Hiccup. At worse he would simply be a lot rougher with his human, and give Hiccup lots of apology nuzzles when he came back to his senses.


  1. Between the two of them, Astrid is the stricter parent. Hiccup will put his foot down about anything that could harm his little girl even a tiny bit, but with anything else - getting treats, staying up past bedtime, not eating yucky vegetables - all Helena has to do is seem close to tears and Hiccup folds like a piece of wet toast. He does get better at resisting this weaponised cuteness, eventually.


  1. Helena is well aware that she has her dad wrapped around her little finger and perfected the art of crocodile tears at quite a young age. One of the first tricks she taught Ebony was how to beg, and between them they can wear down even the hardest of guardian hearts with their combined d’aww.


  1. Astrid thought she’d have to mostly take charge when it came to their sex life. Then she discovered that so long as he’s certain she’s on board and they have a safe-word, Hiccup could be surprisingly sexually aggressive...almost dragonish...only to turn back into an awkward, stammering, blushing, apologetic dork right afterwards. It took her a while to convince him she was into it and it was kind of a massive turn on when he growled like that, damn him.



* * *

Secrets and Lies ch 7 missing scene (inspired by TheWhisperingWarrior):

The council meeting ended, and they were about to leave the Great Hall when Hiccup called, “Hey, Snotlout? Can, uh, can we talk?”

“Oh…sure” he agreed. They sat down at a nearby table and waited until everyone else had gone. “What’s wrong?” Snotlout asked finally.

Hiccup hastily replied “Nothing. I mean, maybe…I just wondered if there was anything else bothering you. About me.” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, not quite meeting Snotlout’s eyes.

Snotlout blinked. “Uh…no? I mean, of course not. It’s fine. I told you, I don’t really hate you, why don’t we just let bygones be bygones” he insisted.

“…Wow. And I thought I was a bad liar” Hiccup smirked a little. Snotlout glared at him, and he held his palms up in surrender. “I don’t want to argue with you. I just want to understand. I know we haven’t been on the best of terms lately, but you’re still my friend. At least…I still want us to be friends” he admitted.

Snotlout dragged a hand over his face. “…You want the truth? I’m jealous. Or envious or whatever it is” he waved a hand dismissively. “There. I said it.”

“What…what are you jealous of?” Hiccup asked tentatively.

The other man scoffed. “You have everything. A loving family. A dragon soulmate - you’re still my favourite, Fangster, don’t worry” he reassured his own partner. “Everyone respects you. The dragons respect you. Heck, you walk through the village and all the dragons bow to you like you’re the freaking king of the world. I’m not saying I want that, it’s just…your life is perfect.”

For a few long moments, neither of them spoke. “My life isn’t perfect” Hiccup said quietly at last. “It’s _good_ , and I am so grateful…I almost can’t believe it, because I have no idea what I did to deserve all this. I look at Toothless and Astrid and Helena and I think, they’re _mine,_ and it’s…incredible. I never really thought about how my life must seem like from the outside looking in, so to speak” he confessed, “but I…I wouldn’t say it was perfect. I mean, if it was, I wouldn’t have a certain wolf-loving psycho out for my blood.”

Shaking his head, Snotlout remarked, “I still can’t believe you want to spare Adulfr. Well, I can, cos it’s you we’re talking about, but…don’t you just want to throttle the guy?” He demonstrated on thin air. “Toothless, don’t you want to rip him limb from limb?”

Toothless nodded slowly and deliberately. Hiccup replied, “I hate Adulfr just as much as you do; though not, I imagine, as much as he hates me. But what good will that do? His hatred of me led him to raise an army against us. And I killed Drago, but that didn’t solve our problems. If anything, it’s just made things worse. Anger begets anger. Hate begets hate. I’m sick of it, Snotlout.

“I’m sick of having to hide away and ‘play dead’. I’m sick of doubting myself all the time. I want to do the right thing, but I don’t know what the right thing is anymore. I’m sick of doing what I think is the right thing only for it to blow up in my face” Hiccup revealed. He shook his head, grimacing. “I shouldn’t have agreed to the whole ‘dragon justice’ thing. You know why I did? Because I was mad they took Toothless. But letting the dragons attack them is a terrible idea.”

“So stop it. Go to Astrid, tell her you’ve changed your mind.”

Hiccup shook his head again. “There’s no better alternative. All I can do is persuade the wild dragons not to go overboard, and have the diplomats and their dragons keep an eye on things. Oh, and talk to Gonzales. I need to get his side of the story too.” Hiccup sighed heavily, shoulders slumped. “The truth is…sometimes I wish I wasn’t the Dragon Whisperer. That I could just be…me.”

All this time, Snotlout had thought Hiccup was taking his great life for granted…now, he realised Hiccup’s life wasn’t really that great after all. He thought about what it would be like to have everyone look to him for answers, only to denounce him when he had none, or when things went south despite or even because of his best efforts to keep the peace. Snotlout didn’t think he could deal with that kind of pressure.

“On second thoughts, I’m not jealous” he spoke aloud at last, “I’m…sorry.”

“For me?” Hiccup raised an eyebrow. “I wasn’t asking for pity, or anything.”

“No, not like that” Snotlout rolled his eyes. “I’m not sorry for you, I’m just…sorry. For cutting you out. For not saying something before now. We should have had this conversation years ago, but instead I bottled up how I really felt like the selfish git I am.”

“You’re not selfish, Snotlout. A git, maybe, sometimes, but not selfish. Not anymore. Besides, the blame doesn’t just lie with you. I could’ve…I should have said something, done more to reach out to you. You’re not the only one who couldn’t shelve his pride long enough to talk. Still…” he sucked in a breath, ran a hand through his hair, and offered his not-so-estranged friend a small smile. “I’m glad we did. Thank you, Snotlout” he remarked, offering a hand.

He was holding out his right hand. Inwardly, Snotlout winced at the thought of how he used to bully Hiccup incessantly for being left-handed, calling him a freak whose hands were on the wrong way round. Now his friend was deferring to his dominant hand and Snotlout didn’t feel he deserved that. So instead, he held out his left hand, and gave Hiccup a meaningful stare.

Hiccup blinked, surprised, but then smiled. He clasped Snotlout’s hand in both of his own and shook it gently. “You’re welcome, Hiccup” the other man replied.

They stood up, and looked over to where their dragons were giving each other reconciliatory nuzzles. Beckoning to their partners, both men left the Great Hall, with hearts lighter than they had been for a long, long time.

* * *

**Dragon Culture**

  1. To dragons, the sun and moon are the heart-fires of invisible, celestial dragons that watch over the world. This is the closest dragons have to a belief in gods, but their belief system, such as it is, is quite pagan. Dragons have no organised religion and don’t really worship anything, but have similar cross-species myths and legends. There’s one about the sun hurling a piece of itself at the world, forcing all dragons to hide below the ground...


  1. Dragons don’t have the same taboos against cannibalism as most (but not all) human cultures do. The rule of thumb is that no dragons will hunt and devour their own kind; the only exception known so far is the Red Death, where the hatchlings kill and feed on each other until only one remains. More aggressive dragons such as Changewings and Scauldrons are willing to hunt other kinds of dragons, in competition for resources and territory, and rogue male Changewings who take over a pack will kill and sometimes eat the eggs and young of their rival, much like lions. The most common form of cannibalism amongst various dragon kinds is necrophagy; some dragons have scales that are so fireproof, they won’t burn even after death, so unless the dragon is poisoned they are eaten after death to dispose of the body and nourish the still living.


  1. Different species of dragon have different mating habits. Dragons in mixed species packs are usually socially monogamous, finding a compatible mate and having offspring with them for several breeding seasons. Dragons in single species packs are often polygamous, either with a dominant male getting all the drakainas, or a dominant female getting her pick of all the drakes.


  1. In order to avoid inbreeding, dragon packs that are ‘allied’ with each other can have shared breeding grounds so that pack-mates can meet, court and breed with dragons of their own kind that are not from their pack. This also helps with overcrowding as new mated pairs will often go on to establish packs of their own.


  1. True monogamy or ‘mating for life’ is rare amongst dragons. Members of monogamous species can stay with the same mate for decades, but with such long lifespans and low species density it‘s more practical for them to have ‘open relationships’. The only dragons that truly mate for life are the ones so compatible, with such a strong bond of love and trust that they can’t imagine life without each other - the heart bound pairs.



* * *

**Dragon Biology**

  1. The so-called ‘Cavern Crashers’ and ‘Slitherwings’ are not dragons at all, but more primitive and animalistic cryptids incapable of thought-speak. They are one of dragon-kinds few natural predators (except for other dragons) but are very rare, on account of most dragons killing them to defend themselves and their eggs.


  1. Dragons are the most diverse group of vertebrates on the planet, with a variety of body types. The most common are ‘Westerns’, dragons with four legs and two wings. 38 known species belong to this group, which in turn is divided into five sub-groups: short neck with broad tail fin, short neck with narrow/no tail-fin/club tail, raised forelegs, long neck with broad tail fin, long neck with narrow/no tail fin. The second most common are ‘Wyverns’, dragons with two legs and two wings, which come in short necked and long necked varieties and include 15 known species. The least common are the ‘Hydrans’, a collective term for the 7 known dragon species with multiple body parts, usually heads or wings but in a few cases, limbs or tails.


  1. The gullet of a dragon has two tubes - one tube leads directly to the stomach, the other to a thick-membraned fuel sac. This sac, found beneath the breastbone, is filled with the fuel for their fires in a liquid or gaseous medium. It is ignited via a cluster of electrolytes at the back of the throat. Normally, the fuel sac tube is closed by a valve, to prevent air or food from entering the fuel sac. The dragon’s lungs and heart constantly squeeze the fuel sac like bellows, causing the pressure and thus the heat to rise. As for where the fuel comes from, it may be that different dragons can isolate the necessary elements in the food they eat and air they breathe, and collect them all in one place. Quite how this is done remains a mystery, and much like thought-speak, a lot of people are content to chalk it up to ‘magic’.


  1. Although oleander and azaleas are poisonous to dragons, there are other plants that don’t harm them but are still aggravating. These include onions, rosemary, lavender and especially peppermint. One way that Eret and co keep the peace between villages and dragons is by encouraging the locals to plant peppermint around anywhere they don’t want dragons to go.


  1. Dragons, like other reptiles, are diapsids. This means they have two holes on each side of their skull behind the eye sockets which allows them to have stronger jaw muscles and open their mouths really wide.



**Dragon Reproduction**

  1. Swift-Wing babies grow in eggs! It’s just that unlike most other terrestrial dragons, the egg hatches whilst still in the ‘womb’ and the yolk sac, which acts as a pseudo-placenta, keeps the hatchling alive as it reabsorbs the minerals of the dissolved eggshell to harden its soft scales and make them fireproof.


  1. This ‘live birth’ strategy is rare amongst terrestrial dragons. Several species of aquatic dragon give birth to live young; after all, it’s kind of hard/dangerous to find somewhere to lay eggs when you live in the deep, open ocean. They do, however, migrate to warmer and shallower waters, like whales, to pop their babies out.


  1. Only three species of terrestrial dragons give birth to live young: Sand-Wings, Swift-Wings and Clear-Wings. Basically Sand-Wings evolved from a now extinct species of sea dragon, and in turn the Swift-Wings split off from them, the Clear-Wings later emerging as a (relatively) new subspecies of Swift-Wing. All three species inherited their distant aquatic ancestors’ live birth strategy.


  1. The sea dragon most closely related (relatively speaking) to these three is the Thunderdrum, or Bellower, with whom they share a common ancestor. This is evidenced by the base fins and flattened skulls shared by all four kinds of dragon.


  1. Dragon eggs start off with thick, mineral rich shells to protect the developing embryo. Once the hatchling is fully formed, it begins to absorb the minerals to harden and strengthen its scales, weakening the shell. When the egg hatches, it shatters as the baby dragon bursts out, hungry and squalling for fish. Drakainas lick up the shattered eggshell and regurgitate it along with half-eaten fish so that their hatchlings first meal is full of yolk-y, mineral-y goodness.




	7. Thoughts of a Night Fury

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I have a song! With background accompaniment from the well known percussion instrument of a hand on a table. Here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JD4CDJ5PDk
> 
> Or just search ‘lilac lyrics fire in your heart’ and enjoy ;)
> 
> Also, I know this is a random thing to ask, but are there any Avatar: The Last Airbender fans in the house? If you are, PM me. Let’s chat. Okay.

Thoughts of a Night Fury 

(In Dragons We Trust)  

I know why you have to do this, little brother. I know it’s not safe for us on Berk right now, especially me. “I’ll be back for you, I promise.” I believe you, Hiccup, but please don’t leave. Okay…I’ll stay here and keep the others together. But it still hurts to have you take off my saddle, hug me goodbye, and sail away on that ship. I miss you so much already. I feel…abandoned, but I can’t lose hope. I know that I have to trust you…trust that you’ll come back for me, just as I always have…always will…for you.

* * *

 

(Alvin and the Outcasts)

That’s Hiccup’s voice! Wait, what sword? Who are these huge, ugly Vikings? They’re not from Berk, and they stink. Hiccup, what have you gotten yourself into? What do you mean, make me angrier? _Oh,_ now I get it. First I’m gonna get you back for leaving me here; by licking you to death! Yes, I did miss you. Yes, come on, the saddle’s right where you left it. Put it on me, quick! I’m just gonna ignore that “dirty dragon” comment – I’ve been grooming myself plenty, thank you very much. At last, you’re where you belong – with me. Welcome back.

* * *

 

(When Lightning Strikes)

The Vikings I thought I could trust have turned on me. They’re going to sail me out to sea; they think it will make the lightning go away. But it’s not me! Stoick, Gobber and two more humans stand in their way. I’m grateful. Then Hiccup comes to tell them it’s the metal, but they won’t believe him. Wait, little brother, what are you doing? Be careful! _No_! I struggle harder than ever – Hiccup needs me! At last I break free of that hateful trap and dive to save him. Forget the rest of them – Hiccup comes first for me.

* * *

(What Flies Beneath)

Stay out of this, Hiccup! Just a week ago you got hurt trying to help me; I won’t let that happen again…You’re not going to stop following me, are you? I know you want to help, but you _can’t._  This is between me and that murderer...Great, now I’m cornered. The Spine-Twister is gonna kill me like he killed my dam, because I can’t fly without my brother, what was I thinking? Hiccup, get away from the edge! No! Thank the Moon I caught you in time. I’m sorry, Hiccup. I should have let you help me in the first place.

* * *

 

(We Are Family Pt 1)

“Well, this is it, Toothless. You’re finally gonna see you’re not alone.” I already know I’m not alone, Hiccup. I have you. But I guess it would be nice to find out where I come from. Well, we’re here. You happy now?…Was that a roar? Was that…a Swift-Wing? There’s one peeking out from the cliffs. Hiccup encourages me and I move towards it, but I’m uneasy. Something feels off. “Toothless, come back!” The next thing I know, we’re being captured. It was a trap the whole time! Oh great, it’s Alvin and the Huge Ugly Vikings…and Mildew, you treacherous snake!

* * *

 

(We Are Family Pt 2)

Playing pretend to trick these dumb humans is a good plan, I think, but it sure is boring. These tricks are more fun with Hiccup. That fish smells so good…no, focus! I can’t eat it. I have to get them to take this muzzle off. Yes, that’s it…finally! I growl and blast them back. That feels good! Now to get out of this really uncomfortable trap. Pull off this band, snap that rope…got it! Step aside, please. Thanks for leaving the door open, suckers! That’s for hanging me up, and that’s for good measure. Right, now to look for Hiccup.

* * *

 

(The Night and the Fury)

The mad human alpha, Dagger or whatever his name is, finally works out that we dragons are ridden on Berk, not hunted. We fly away; then he throws those stupid bolas’ at me! He attacks me with a sword, but Hiccup blocks it. He’s facing an armed, dangerous enemy alone to protect me. It’s so brave, and so reckless – so Hiccup, really. “And by the way, I’m not your brother.” Yes, not his, but you are mine. And I won’t let him hurt you. A few fire blasts should make him think twice before messing with me and my human.

* * *

 

(A View to a Skrill Pt 1)

Why yes, Astrid, my searching-roar does work in clouds. The sooner we get this Lightning-Fang out of here, the better. Wait, where did those arrows come from? Hookfang, look out! Too late. Oh look, it’s Dagger. He wants the Lightning-Fang? He can come and get her…Really, Hiccup? Fine, we’ll save the Skrill from Dagur. Astrid, please don’t remind me of that. Whoa! I didn’t know our combined fires did that! And now she’s chasing us. And now she’s chasing them. Here goes nothing…OW. Get lost, Dagger. Great; now we’ve lost the Skrill. When we find her, I want a rematch.

* * *

 

(A View to a Skrill Pt 2)

Okay, I admit it. I don’t like her, but I don’t want her to be enslaved by Dagger like this. Don’t worry, Hiccup, you’ll think of something…really dangerous, why am I not surprised? Stupid Dagger, that’s not how you ride a dragon. “Fire, Toothless, now!” Yes, yes, I know – hey! No fair. Wait for it…Yes! Take that, Dagger. Stop shooting at us! We were rescuing you! The Skrill is a female, Hiccup. Follow us? Okay, I trust you. Ice! Yeah, I’d like to see her do that! This iceberg is huge. Oh no, dead end…for _her_. Nice one, little brother!

* * *

 

(The Eel Effect)

I don’t feel so good. Everything’s red and wobbly…stay away, Hiccup, the madness will make me hurt you! Where am I going? I can’t see! Birds, leaves, buzzing fly – it’s too much! My fires, I can’t control them! No, Hiccup, not now! I’m too dangerous. I can’t stop firing! No, no, _Hiccup_. I’m so sorry. Don’t follow me…no, no, get off me, human! You trapped me! Prepare to – ow! Get off me, Rock-Tail. Do I…know you? What is this stuff? The eel…the madness is _gone_. Thank you, Hiccup. You saved me. I’m so sorry I didn’t let you help me.

* * *

 

(Cast Out Pt 1)

Why did it have to be dragon root? Dagur, you are the worst. Now all our lives are in Meatlug’s claws…good luck! To all of you. I wish we could help, but the root will make _me_ go mad and attack Hiccup. I am _not_ going through that again. Yes! Well done, Meatlug. Get out of there – no! You heard him, open the door. Dagger, go away. You want me? _Tough._ You can’t make him choose like that, it’s not fair! Stoick, am I glad to see you. Let’s finish this…no, Stoick! Don’t worry, Hiccup. We’ll get your sire back.

* * *

 

(Cast Out Pt 2)

You’re the only one who is going to fear me, Dagger. I am not yours, and I never will be. Deathkiller? And you say my name makes no sense. Now there are Spine-Twisters everywhere, hooray. As usual, Hiccup, your plans are crazy, but working. The ground is giving way. Get off me, Dagger! Hold on, Hiccup, I’m coming. Is that the Air-Giant? Dagger, stop being so…deranged! Hookfang, what are you doing?! Whoa…impressive. Nice move, Hookfang. Yes, you are welcome Air-Giant, now stop your overgrown temper tantrum….Your sire is right, Hiccup. You will be a great Alpha one day. You already are.

* * *

 

(The Next Big Sting)

What is this thing? It looks weird, I don’t like it. Wait, a flight suit? That’s what you have _me_ for! Well said, Fishlegs….wait, okay, that is a good point…maybe this thing will be useful. Not happening, Snotlout! Of course you’re falling. Hold on!...You’re trying again, aren’t you? And it failed. I am so not surprised. Really, again? You judged a lot more than the updrafts wrong, Hiccup. Yes, I am going to worry! I can’t watch. Wait, it’s working? No, of course, you can’t turn. I’m coming, Hiccup! Gotcha! You’re welcome – and _that’s_ for getting yourself into this mess.

* * *

 

(Edge of Disaster Pt 2)

Stop that! He’s no threat! Yes, Hiccup, I know. Up we go…no! Hiccup! Get off me! I can’t catch up. Yes, Hiccup, quick, spread your wings! Land on that sea stack. Wait, no, careful. Gotcha! You’re welcome. Now we’re surrounded, wonderful. Stay back! Wait? Wait for what? Hiccup, you are brilliant. See? My human is good, he’s one of us! The human fearing dragons see my Hiccup’s wings and smell his scent like mine, and he does that hand thing to their alpha, who accepts him as no threat. They follow us back to the Edge to help defend it.

* * *

 

(Dire Straits)

I very much hate this bad plan. Hiccup has nearly drowned too many times. The dragon hunters attack, throwing rocks at us. No, wait, not at us – at the Sea-Churner Hiccup is trying to set free. The others start pulling Hiccup back from the sea, but a rock hits the boat and the chain snaps. I grab it and dive off the boat. It sinks to the bottom; no matter how hard I shove and claw at it, I can’t get him out. You’re right, Hiccup. I will never leave you. The Sea-Churner…saved us? Hiccup, please be okay…thank the Moon.

* * *

 

(The Wings of War Pt 1)

I know you want to find another way, Hiccup, but I don’t like this plan. Fine, we’ll do it your way. A Fire-Scale? No threat – wait, where are you going? Singetail! Hiccup we are not…of course you want to follow him. You owe me for this. Stakeouts are _boring._ This dragon is boring…and gross. *Don’t do it, Hiccup!* I wish you could hear me. That’s right, you won’t hear the end of it, and neither will he. He’s attacking! I leap at him, but he bucks me off and blasts at me. Hiccup, why do you never listen to me?!

* * *

 

(Darkest Night)

You…you wish we hadn’t met? Hiccup, you don’t…blame me for this, do you? Please don’t go. There you are. Apology accepted…bad choice of words, though. Hi Astrid. Yes, listen to her, Hiccup. Your life would be so dull without me in it. My life would be dull without you…really, Astrid? I would not trip up and knock myself out like that! What’s with the Spine-Twister? Okay, climbing up me _is_ something he’d do. Yes, flying! Seriously? I’m fireproof, Astrid, my tail-fin wouldn’t just burn off! Oh, never mind. If your story makes Hiccup feel better, then that’s all that matters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Please feel free to ask for clarification if any of the stream-of-consciousness musings confuse you.


End file.
